


A Possum Roman to the Dark Side

by hottempered242



Series: Paved With Good Intentions Universe [3]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Changed it to Janus after the last video, Deceit's name was Ethan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:06:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 25,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23812042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hottempered242/pseuds/hottempered242
Summary: Roman is cursed by the Dragon Witch to turn into a possum and whisked away (aka Kidnapped) by Remus to the Dark Side. What is the poor hero to do?NOTE: This is a different timeline of Paved with Good Intentions, and occurs before the Dark Sides ever hatched their plan.EDIT 5/2/2020: I plan on scrubbing Deceit's name to Janus sometime soon, probably when I post the next chapter. I want to do it at the same time as the other works, so it isn't confusing... Completed 5/22/20
Series: Paved With Good Intentions Universe [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1678150
Comments: 187
Kudos: 153





	1. The Curse

**Author's Note:**

> It started out as a short, how did it end up like this? It was supposed to be short, IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SHORT! :)
> 
> Also, the Title is a pun that I both love and hate. Patton would get it! Not sure if I am going to change it or not...
> 
> So this was going to go in the "After the Road was Built" work as another chapter, but I wrote this chapter out and realized I hadn't even gotten Roman to the Dark Sides yet. Therefore this will be a story in an alternate timeline to my other stories. I am keeping it in the series unless people complain, because these will be the same characters from Paved with Good Intentions, just in a different time.

The day had started so well. He had stolen some of Logan's crofters for breakfast and was able to escape before the logical Side had noticed. _I need to make a note to always try to grab it when Logan is low on caffeine_!

Then it was on to the Imagination, to be adored by his subjects. Talking with them, things were quiet. His brother hadn't attacked in at least a month which is somewhat long for the chaotic Side. _I may have to wander over to his side to make sure he isn't planning anything big._ A shudder wracks his body at the idea of getting stuck in quicksand made out of some unidentified substance again. _It took forever to get that awful smell off_!

All in all, it had been a pretty good day. That is, until he saw the smoke coming from the fields outside the village at the edge of his side of the Imagination. His first thought was Remus had slipped over to cause trouble again. However, there is only one being in the Imagination that makes black smoke with lightning in it, and it was not his brother! Which led to his current fight.

"Back foul fiend! I will triumph today like always!" Roman yells at the Dragon Witch, dodging a fireball aimed at his face. The sneer never left his foe's face. _He is going to give himself wrinkles if he keeps that up!_

"You have been lucky, Prince Roman! One of these days I will hit one of your flaws and you will shatter!" Roman scoffs at this and parries the claw aimed at his face.

"Good luck with that. I have no flaws!" Roman taunts, slashing at the Dragon Witch's exposed stomach only for the fiend to dodge away. _Drat!_

"Are you saying that you have never been wrong, Roman?" The intensity in the question gives the creative Side pause, but only for a moment.

"Of course not! I am practically perfect in every way!" He poses at his - awesome - line for a quick second before barely ducking the tail swinging at his head. _What is with the Dragon Witch an hitting me in the face?!? Is it because I am not going to get wrinkles early?_

The Dragon Witch pauses, then laughs, the sound full throated and menacing. A chill of doubt crawls down his spine. He has heard many laughs come from his second most annoying foe - his brother taking the lead because of the weggie incident - and this is definitely his "I just found a weakness that I am about to take advantage of" laugh _. And that never ends well for me..._

"Then this next spell will be the end of you!" thunders across the battlefield before Roman feels the presence of magic build in the air. _THAT does not sound good!_ Roman tries to fall back from the magical assault yet still feels a weight settle on him before disappearing. He freezes, but when nothing happens he starts to preen. Then the Dragon Witch chuckles.

"Roman, you will become a lowly creature and stay that way until you sincerely acknowledge a wrong you have done." As the words are spoken, dizziness hits him hard. He tries to say on his feet, only to drop to his knees, then the ground as he falls into unconsciousness. _He finally got me…vanquished by my own perfection…_

\----

When Roman opens his eyes, it is to giant trees, grass, and, really, giant everything. _What is going on? I don't have a giant forest in the Imagination-_

The memory of the curse hits him, and he looks down at himself. Only to see grey hair that fades to black near his pink, clawed fingers. Startled, he backs up a step, only to see the grey hair on his stomach and similar pink fingers where his FEET SHOULD BE!

After turning to take in his back and sides - the HAIRLESS TAIL too much to contemplate now - he finally starts to panic. _Am I a rat?!?_ But no, rats have clawed tiny paws, and what he has looks larger and more like creepy little hands than paws.

He desperately looks around for something to see his reflection in. _No ponds in sight!_ Though that may have to do with his lack of visibility from his short stature. But he does see a farmhouse at the edge of the now smoldering field. _They surely will have something that can help!_

He makes a break for the building, cursing how little distance his tiny feet carry him. _Curse that Dragon Witch for this!_ Thoughts of what exactly he wants to do with his foe for this atrocity flashes through his head as he runs. _First, steal Logan's Crofters and hide it in the Dragon Witches things. Then get that stick in the mud, and Patton, here for them to find it. Finally leave the Dragon Witch to the mercy of a lecturing Logan and a disappointed Dad! The Perfect Plan! He will rue the day he messed with me!_

Roman finally reaches the house so see a rainwater barrel sitting next to it. _Perfect!_ He races over and pulls off the lid. Staring down at his reflection, he is greeted with a furry white face, pitch black eyes, and small black ears. _I am a possum?!?_

WHACK! A broom hits him across the head, and Roman falls off the barrel. Shaking his head, he tries to get his bearings when the next hit catches him in the side, pushing him away from the barrel and the house. A farmer is wielding a broom at him aggressively, obviously ready to hit him more.

"Get on out of here you pesky rodent! I don't need you drinking my water and eating my crop! The Dragon Witch has already done enough damage. Get on now!"

Roman makes a dash for the woods, running from a subject that just this morning talked about how much he adored his Prince. _Oh, how the mighty have fallen!_


	2. The Kidnapping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone finds him...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remus, it's Remus. Because Roman wasn't looking where he was going.

The sound of yelling faded as Roman rushed into the tree line. Still he kept running for a while, in case the villager decided to chase him. After a couple minutes, he finally slowed down enough to take stock of where he is. And what he saw made him freeze.

When he had started running, his only thought was to get away from the assault. And the forest seemed like the best place to do it. Except adrenaline had made him forget what the forest actually was. _The border between Remus's and my side of the Imagination!_

The trees seemed to radiate dark intent, and the silence in the clearing he stopped in reminded him of the quiet before a predator kills its prey. If only to prove that it could get even creepier, a fog started to permeate the air, crippling his visibility and obscuring the way that he had come. _And this is why I never go find Remus in his Side! It is so creepy!_

A snap of a tree branch a few feet to his right was enough for Roman to - bravely - jump in the air with a and start running in the opposite direction. A sense of something close and approaching reaches up and grabs him by the throat. _Who knows what twisted things Remus keeps over here…_

Except in the next second an arm appears out of the fog to grab him by the tail and hoist him into the air. Roman tries to bend up to scratch at the hand holding him up by the base of the tail, but he is still not used to this body and can't figure out how to use his tail to pull him up enough to get a good swing.

"~Lookie at what I caught!~"

At the sound of the too familiar voice, Roman freezes with his attempts at freeing himself to slowly look to the face of the person holding him. _REMUS!_ The worst scenario has come to pass. _What will he do with a possum? Probably kill it - kill ME - in some tortuous way!_

His brother's normally crazed eyes are looking at him with a decent amount of confusion shining through. "This is NOT what I was expecting when I came this way. What the hell are you doing, huh?" _What?!? How does he know it is me?_

At first Roman panics and a hiss slips out instinctively, but as Remus just tilts his head and squints his eyes at him in return, logic is able to fight back and help him take stock. _How would he know it is you? You are a possum right now. And he is crazy enough to try to interrogate an animal that can't talk back, so it is WAY more likely that this is Remus just being Remus._

"I am sorry, I am normally very fluent in hiss but your accent is fucked up. Probably because you aren't from around here. Care to try again?"

A flash of relief - _He thinks I am a possum!_ \- is quickly followed by panic. _I don't know, do I? What would a possum do? Where is that walking encyclopedia when you need him!_ After a second, he gives another hiss, hoping that this is a good choice. It comes out sounding feeble and stutter-y even to his ears. _This is not fair! I haven't had the change to practice!_

An almost feral grin blooms across Remus's face at the sound. "Oh! I know that one! That was definitely a 'I have no idea what I am doing and I need help but fuck you anyway' hiss!" He laughs as he starts walking, taking Roman with him. "Yeah, I hear that one enough to translate it even with your accent! Whelp, that leaves only one thing to do."

 _Put me back in my side of the Imagination_? Even as he thinks it, he knows that would be too good to be true. And the smirk thrown his way by his brother confirms it. "I'm gonna take you home! Then who knows what will happen!" 

\----

The entire way to the Dark Side, Roman tried desperately to get out of his brother's hold. All it earned him was laughter from the chaotic Side and his energy being drained until he is hanging limply in the hold. _So this is how the great Prince is ended? As a rodent in his evil brother's clutches. I am sure I would have preferred to get eaten by the Dragon Witch…_

As they walk through Remus's door, Roman flinches and curls into himself. He is half-convinced that he would turn back to his normal body as soon as he leaves the Imagination. Relief and horror war with each other when he stays a possum. _So the Dragon Witch's spells can affect me outside of the Imagination?!?_

Remus had stopped moving when Roman had flinched, and when he looks up to see why, the chaotic Side is looking at him. "You okay there? I mean, I know I haven't cleaned my room in a while, but it isn't THAT bad!"

With that ringing endorsement, Roman looks around to take stock of the not-that-bad room. And - _I mean, if you ignore WHAT is in the room and only focus on how cluttered it is, my room has been worse during a writer's block._ The 'what' is hard to ignore, though. Instead of capes and clothing in piles on the floor, there are piles of bloody weapons and other substances. _I think one is a pile of jello with body parts in the middle…_ Quickly looking away, the walls grab his attention next with a very detailed and realistic mural of a body being dissected-

The other door in the room slams open, and another Dark Side rushes in. Roman can't make out any more details than that before the room blurs as he is swung in front of Remus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I really want this story to be completely in Roman's point of view, but I am strongly leaning towards adding an extra Remus's POV of this chapter at the end or something. Or I can put it right after this chapter (since I started looking at that rather than the next chapter), but put a warning that it will point out that Roman is an unreliable narrator - i.e. oblivious as all hell - sometimes. Any thoughts?
> 
> With that out of the way... Who could the other Dark Side be? (you got, like, a 50/50 shot of guessing it, but I thought it would still be fun to leave that until the next chapter) :)


	3. The Kidnapping - Remus POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus finds a possum and takes him home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the Kidnapping from Remus's POV

Remus feels the rush of the Imagination wash over him as he crosses over the threshold. "The perfect place to hide!"

Janus had threatened Virgil and him to clean up the common room before he got back from scouting for shadows "or else". But he doesn't really want to clean. At worst, Janus will ground them in their rooms again, and he is willing to take the punishment. Mostly because -

"I AM SO BORED RIGHT NOW!" The scream helped with some of his pent up energy, but not enough. The number of shadows have been pretty low lately, and he can only get into so many fights with Virgil before they get separated. Which had led him to his new plan - go fuck with his brother.

"And wouldn't you know it, the pompous prince is already here!" As he makes his way in the general direction of Roman, he starts thinking about what he can do when he finds his brother. _I haven't seen him in forever, so maybe a hug? Or throw a fish at him? Oh, I know! I will throw a squid at his face and let it hug him!_

With a plan chosen, he starts working out the details - _what type of squid? Are any poisonous? Should I throw overhand or underhand? -_ when he realizes that his brother is much closer than he should be. _Did Roman actually come over to MY side of the Imagination?_ That VERY rarely happened, and only after Remus really pisses off his twin. He tries to think of anything that he had done recently that would be as disastrous as that, but comes up blank.

So he slows down when he feels his brother close and he sneaks over to the clearing that Roman had to be in. However, the only thing he can see is a scared possum. _But where is Roman? Unless…_ His twin sense had never been wrong - _and had allowed him to pull off so many good pranks!_ \- so the only explanation would be -

 _Is Roman a possum for some reason?!?_ The shock of that idea takes his mind off of being quiet, and he breaks a branch with his next step. _Damn!_ He quickly hides behind a tree, then moves away from where he made the sound to capture the possible-Roman possum. The animal is looking around, but obviously does not see him as he flanks him. _The fog helps with that! Only a few more steps. And…_

He rushes the final steps and is able to grab the possum by the base of the tail in order to pick it up without getting bit. _Not in the bite-y mood right now. Especially if this is Roman._ The possum ineffectually tries to attack his hand. _This possum either sucks at life or is not normally a possum..._

"~Lookie at what I caught!~"

At the sound of his voice, the possum freezes. Remus at first thinks it is trying to play dead, but then the critter slowly looks up at him. _Oh yeah, I have seen that "oh shit, it's Remus!" look before. What the hell has Roman got into that would turn him into possum? What does he have to say for himself?_

"This is NOT what I was expecting when I came this way. What the hell are you doing, huh?"

"hsss" The sound is a pitiful attempt at a hiss. _Good thing Janus isn't here or he would disown him on the spot for that._ He waits a bit longer to see if Roman would try again, only to be met with wide eyes and silence. Okay... _so he can't talk in that form. Or maybe doesn't want to. I'll give him another chance._

"I am sorry, I am normally very fluent in hiss but your accent is fucked up. Probably because you aren't from around here _." Let's see if me knowing he isn't a possum from here is enough to get him to talk_ "Care to try again?"

This time the hiss is even weaker than the first one. But this one reminds him of -

"Oh! I know that one! That was definitely a 'I have no idea what I am doing and I need help but fuck you anyway' hiss!" He laughs at the memories of hearing Janus and Virgil use it on him _\- but with way more force_ \- only to desperately need help with something - _like when Virgil got stuck on top of the fridge and didn't want Janus to know!_ "Yeah, I hear that one enough to translate it even with your accent!"

It seems that Roman is in some deep shit and either doesn't know or doesn't want to ask Remus for help. "Whelp, that leaves only one thing to do."

He smirks down at his possum-brother and starts to head back home. "I'm gonna take you home! Then who knows what will happen!" 

_I can't say that I am bored now! This is going to be fun! Either the spell stays once we leave the Imagination and I have a possum brother now, or he turns back to being human and we can hang out. That's a win-win scenario in my book!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I first started this, I was trying to figure out when Remus would figure it out. Then I remembered the Twin thing, so of course he knows it is Roman. And it made sense Remus would just go along with whatever this is for the lols!


	4. The Dark Side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman makes it to the Dark Side!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Virgil guys...

"Remus, you are late-"

"Hey Virgil! Look what I got!" Roman freezes when this Virgil person focuses on him. _Wait. Is this- Is this Paranoia?_ The Side - Virgil - does not have any scales on his face, ruling out Deceit. But every time he had seen Paranoia before, his face was always covered in shadows and four spiders arms extended from his back as he yelled in a voice that sent shivers down his spine.

This Side looks like an emo nightmare more than anything else. His face is fully visible with only some dark circles under the eyes, his voice had been grumpy but completely normal, and no spider arms are visible above his black sweater. _It is like a whole other Side! Maybe Deceit is dressed up and hiding his scales?_

The entire time he had been trying to place Virgil, the other Side had been looking over him hanging upside down by Remus's hand at the base of his tail. Two eyebrows go up as Virgil looks back at Remus. "That definitely looks like a live possum."

"…Yes?" The timid response worries Roman. _Is my force of nature brother actually wary of this Side? How evil is he?_ A worried hiss slips out at the idea of trying to deal with a Side his brother is worried about. "Hsssss." Unfortunately the sound puts him back in the center of attention, and Virgil stares hard at him.

"WHY do you have a possum?"

"Because he is my guest and is staying here for a bit!" _There's the confidence I know from my brother! It must have just been a fluke..._

"Remus, that is just another way of saying you kidnapped a possum. Janus is not going to be happy!" _So the other Side's names are Janus and Virgil. Now I just have to figure out which one is which!_

"What are you talking about? He is my guest, which is totally NOT the same! I didn't even use chloroform on him, so that proves it!" Virgil starts to retort only for Remus to wave dismissively at him. "And possums are awesome! They are good at playing dead, and you already heard that he knows hiss. He will fit in perfectly here!"

"Look, you know that you have to convince Janus about keeping it. Considering last time you brought in snakes that bit him, I don't see how this is going to work." Roman had relaxed some listening to all the information that these two were giving, so he was unprepared for Virgil to turn a dour glare on him causing him to twitch. "It could bite me and give me rabies! And if it does-"

"Yeah, Virgil? What are you going to do to it? Bop it on the nose with a pillow? Lecture it about personal space?" Roman does a double-take at the lack of violence in the retaliation options _. Aren't these Dark Sides?_ He gets a little vertigo as Remus pulls him up so they are face to face. "Don't worry about Charlotte's Dweeb over there. He will probably only bite you back if you bite him-"

A hiss escapes him, offended by the accusations they are throwing at him."HSSS" _To think that a prince would stoop so low as to BITE a vile villain? I would never! They probably would taste as awful as their intentions!_ The fact that they don't know it is him, and only see a normal possum finally filters through his outrage. It helps ease the sting of the slander some, but less than he would have thought. _I will just have to bravely bear their animalistic assumptions!_

Luckily the Dark Sides did not even pause at his hiss, and he hears Virgil yell from behind him. "I will not bite back, you asshole! That would make it worse!"

"...Because then YOU would then give HIM rabies?" _I hope that is a joke! Please tell me that no one has rabies down here!!_

A growl erupts from the emo Side behind him, and Roman hears a single stomp _. Did he just stomp his foot?_ "Look we don't have time for this! You were supposed to help with chores over an hour ago! If they aren't done before Janus gets back, both of us will be in the line of fire!"

"Well, did you start while I was gone?"

"Do you remember how you left the common room?!? There is no place to fucking sit!!" Virgil starts to be come distant as the emo Side seemingly walks out of Remus's room. Roman twists around to confirm that he is gone, but still yelling into the room. "Bring your new victim if you want, but we need to start cleaning now!!"

"Okie-dokie spider folkie!" 

From the spider references from Remus, Roman has to assume this side is Paranoia. _But why does he look so different now?!?_ The need to know starts to gnaw at the back of his mind. He thought he knew enough about these sides to protect the Light Side and Thomas from them, but this… Virgil could go up and talk to Thomas without Roman ever knowing how bad that would be! He needs to get more information about everyone here - 

The room blurs as Remus takes off after the emo Side, and of course dragging him along. _Whisked away, deeper into the lair of the Dark Sides! Curse my brother for this indignity!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Virgil and chairs, man. What can you do?
> 
> Roman is going to figure this out guys! He is on the case!


	5. The Messy Common Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus and Virgil clean(?) the common room. Roman is a long for the ride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mentioned I would be changing Ethan to Janus in my series. I was able to easily scrub this one, but it is going to take a little longer to get up the original story. But it will happen, I promise!

The rest of the Dark Side must be laid out similarly to the Light Side, because Roman got to be carried down a hallway and a flight of stairs before he was dumped in a corner of a room. He supposes this must be their common room; the dimensions of it are similar to his, but this one is… obliterated _. How could they have wrecked it THIS bad?!? WHY did they do it?_

"Now you either stay there or help clean, which do you want to do?" Roman startles when he realizes that Remus is asking him. He takes another look at the wreckage in front of him, and scoots a little further into the corner. Remus sighs. "Yeah, that would be my choice too. But SOME PEOPLE would rat me out to Janus if I did not help!"

The last of that was yelled at Virgil, who was cautiously stepping into the center of the room. The emo Side doesn't even turn around as he flips a bird in their direction. Roman quickly looks over at Remus, to see his reaction to this, only to realize there is none _. He's not mad at being flipped off?_

"I can't conjure anything, Remus. How the hell am I supposed to clean this up by myself? AND most of this fucking mess is yours! I wasn't the one who decided to use ALL THE FUCKING CHAIRS against the shadows!!" _And it is good to know that it is not only my brother who has a potty mouth. But why was he throwing chairs at shadows? Remus is crazy, but that sounds weird even for him._

"It's called being JOHN CENA. Do-doo-do-doooo!"

Roman continues to watch as the two Sides bicker while cleaning the room. All the debris was enthusiastically destroyed by Remus, with Virgil only saving some random fabrics to be put in another corner. All the while the they worked as a team, if a very volatile one.

While the threats, insults, and references did not make complete sense to Roman, it was impossible not to see that these two were close and care a lot about each other. A surprising pang of jealousy hits him as he observes his brother dodge a smack to the head from an exasperated Virgil. _Why isn't he like this with me?_

But… that wasn't true either. Remus has certainly cursed at him, insulted him, and threatened him in similar manners before. The difference was he had taken them seriously and reacted accordingly, by pulling out his katana and going on the attack. Yet, as he watches the fourth time the emo Side threatens to smother Remus with the pillows the chaotic Side just conjured, only for the Remus to laugh and continue doing whatever he was doing to piss off the other Side, Roman is starting to realize that his reactions may have been… not the best. _Was he trying to be friendly and I just didn't know?_

Luckily for his emotional sanity, the other two Sides decided to take a break at this time. Remus came over and tried to pick him back up, but with the corner at his back there was no way he was going to be carried that way again. _No more travelling by tail for this Prince!_ He hisses at his twin to make sure he is aware of this important fact. "HSSSS!"

"Well, we have a couch now, so if you don't want me to pick you up you need to walk over there yourself!" Remus yells at him before dramatically gesturing for him to lead the way. Virgil peeks over the back and smirks. "Uh oh! Your new friend is already pissed with you!"

"He's not mad at me! He's just being over dramatic!" _What?!? Me? Being OVER dramatic? I am just as dramatic as I need to be!_ He makes sure to glare at Remus as he walks by him. "HSSS! Hsssssss"

A chuckle comes from Virgil. "Yeah, he definitely sounds like he agrees with you! But why did you decide to pick up a possum anyway?"

"Maybe I am trying to get more fluent in hiss and you and Janus refuse to teach me?"  
As he is hopping on the couch, Roman is glad the glare that Virgil is sending Remus's way is not focused on him. "There is no such thing as a hiss language, Remus! And we don't hiss that much!"

Hysterical laughter comes from behind him, so Roman turns to look at his brother. He is rolling on the ground, barely able to breathe. _I think that means he disagrees…_ A quick glance at the emo Side shows he is not amused by this reaction. Roman watches in horror as Virgil's shadow shifts to the form of four spider arms on his back as he stared down at the laughing Side. 

The monstrosity starts to loom towards the still laughing and oblivious Remus, a determined look on his face. It takes a quick second for Roman to decide on his course of action. _He is crazy, but he is my brother. And I have to protect him!_

He hisses as he launches himself towards Remus, his only thought to get between him and this threat. He has just enough time to turn towards Paranoia and hiss again - _I thought he was intimidating when we were similar heights. Now he is extremely terrifying!_ \- when something is thrown from one of those shadow arms towards his brother.

"Oof. Hey! Are you sure you want to start this, Virgil?" the fearless taunt comes from behind him just as a pillow - _It must be the same one that was just thrown_ \- hits the monstrous Side in the face. As it falls, his blood freezes at the devilish smirk revealed.

"Damn right I do. And guess what? I have all the ammo!" With that, a barrage of pillows are thrown from both normal and spider arms in front of him, aiming for his clearly unfazed brother behind him, if the laughing is any indication. _H-he's just starting a pillow fight? He changed for that?_

As he dodges out of the way of both Side's pillow assaults, he feels more lost then ever. _I don't understand this place!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not even sure who I think really started that pillow fight (both knew what they were doing imo). But that is just the vibe of Virgil and Remus together. It is only a matter of time before SOMETHING happens. Roman is lucky that it really hasn't involved him...yet! :)
> 
> Be warned, if you liked Roman's self-reflection here... don't get used to it yet. Getting Roman, in character, to truly self reflect is like trying to stop Virgil from panicking. Really fucking hard and very rare! Which I can already tell is going to add chapters to this...


	6. The Name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman the possum gets a name.

Roman has to take refuge on the recliner _\- bravely keeping it from being destroyed again!_ \- as Remus and Virgil's pillow fight escalates. Currently Remus is chasing after Virgil yelling something about birds working for the Bourgeoisie as the emo Side throws curses and pillows behind him. _Whatever that means, it is really effective against Paranoia. How long is this insanity going to last? They are destroying the room they just cleaned up!_ If a tiny voice in the back of his head is yelling that he could beat these two if only he was human, he ignored it as he is in fact not human right now _. Because if I were..._

Suddenly, Roman feels the weight of eyes watching him even though Virgil and Remus are obviously occupied. He glances over to the stairs and freezes when he sees Deceit standing there, taking in the scene and an aura of danger wrapped around him, his scaled side plain to see. _Okay, so Virgil is definitely Paranoia and Janus must be Deceit's name. I am such a good spy!_ He doesn't move as those yellow eyes sweep over him - _Can he tell I am not a normal possum?_ \- only to give a sigh of relief as it focuses back on the chaos in the room.

It only lasts a moment as he sees something - _frustration? Anger? Rage?! What is that villain thinking?!?_ \- cross Deceit's face after watching a lamp get hit by a stray pillow and break. Yet the two fighting Sides are still oblivious to the SNAKE IN THE GARDEN! Roman gets prepared to do SOMETHING if Deceit tries anything. _I will stand between this menace and the others-_

"What AREN'T you two doing-" The aura of danger rises with the question, only to be suddenly stopped. In almost synchronized movements, Virgil and Remus unload the pillows they were holding in Deceit's direction. The chaotic Side laughing maniacally and the emo Side screaming curse words, obviously surprised. Roman looks over at the now definitely-pissed-but-covered-in-pillows Deceit, who starts what sounds to be a lecture, and settles back into his chair.

- _or not…_ He listens in fascinated amusement to see the holder of lies yell about "keeping the damn room clean", and "were all the pillows thrown at me necessary", and "why is there even a possum in here" _Wait, the last one is me! Quick, defensive stance!_ He hunkers down as Remus goes on his "need to learn hiss" spiel again, and it seems that Deceit likes it even less than Virgil did. _If looks could kill…_

"But guys! Possums are cool! They can do all sorts of things-"

"I DO care, Remus. I need to start supper anyway. DO wreck anything else while I am cooking!" A stern look is given to the other three in the room - _Why am I being included in this? I defended this chair and didn't ruin anything. I am being falsely accused!_ \- before Deceit departs to the kitchen after an impressive turn away from the common room. _I have to give the villain credit. That was a good exit._

Remus is still describing to Virgil what possums can do, and the discussion is not going well. _Not that I can blame Virgil for his responses. I REFUSE to eat ANY bugs for them!_ Roman lets the conversation fade into the background as he surveys the re-trashed room _. At least all the big furniture pieces are all upright this time. And my chair does not even have a scratch because of my brave defense!_ However, Roman's ears do perk up as his brother's next comment floats over.

"And they can play dead-" Virgil snorts at that and Remus stops his rant. Roman glances over at his brother to see him looking straight at him. It takes another second to realize the chaotic Side must have been looking at him when his ears went up. This seems to be enough of a reason to come over and forcefully take him off the recliner - _No! My precious fortress!_ \- and plop him down in the middle of the room.

"Yeah, they know how to play dead. Watch!" Roman can feel a finger touch his right temple when Remus screams "BANG!" Both Virgil and he jump at the loud noise.

"Dammit Remus! What the hell-" _Yeah! What the Heckity Heck?!?_

"No, no. Possum over here just got shot in the head. He now needs to play dead!"

On one hand, Roman's heart is still racing from the loud noise screamed in his ear. On the other hand… _Who can resist an audience?_

Roman gets up on his hind legs then pauses for a second. _Got to set the stage._ He then jerks his head away from the side of his head that was poked and clasps both his hands over his heart. _Build the tension._ He slowly pulls right hand up to his head. _And now for the climax!_ As soon as his hand touches the wound, he collapses on the ground, completely limp and eyes closed _. Let it sink in_. he waits for a full minute before peaking up to see the reactions of his audience. 

Virgil is looking at him with a mixture of confusion, shock, and what looks to be a little awe. _Not a BAD reaction, but obviously he is not a fan of the arts._ He glances over at Remus to see his hands are clasped tightly over his mouth as his shoulders shake and tears roll down his face _. Thankfully Remus can truly appreciate a great performance_ _-_

Remus pulls off his hands and his laughter echoes through the room. _What is this slander?!?_ Roman jumps up to point out all the great pieces in that performance. "HSSS! Hss hsssss hs HSSSS!" It takes him a full minute toremember that they can't understand him. Frustration wells at the inability to dress down his PLEBIAN brother. "HSSSSSSSSS!"

"Hey, no! That was" a chuckle " a great performance. Totally believable." snicker, snicker "It had me on the edge of my seat!" At this Remus can't keep talking any longer and goes back to laughing. Roman is now seriously considering going back on his pledge to not bite anyone. _It doesn't count if it is your sibling, right?_

"Soooo, that was something." Roman looks over at Virgil at the interjection. The emo Side is warily looking between Remus and himself. "Now that we saw that - uh - great?" Roman preens a bit at this, even if it sounds a little uncertain. _He is new to seeing acting perfection, I must give him time to adjust._ " acting, I am curious if your possum has a… name? Or something?" Remus FINALLY calms down enough to respond.

"EVERYONE has a name, Virgil. It is more fun to figure what to call them! Like you are spidey boi!"

"Okay, one. I veto spidey boi. I can hear the 'i' at the end and I hate you for it. And two? What do we call your… possum?"

"We could always call him Road Kill?" Roman spins to give a full throated objection to that indignity. "HSSSSSSS!"

Virgil takes the next stab. "Saber-tooth Death Mouse?" _How is that better?_ "HSSSSS!"

"Awesome Possum?" _I appreciate the rhyme, but no._ "HSSSS."

"Hissy Fit?" _Well I NEVER!_ "HSSSSSSSSSS!"

"Wow, you big hairy rat. You are really picky with what we can call you!" Remus whines at him, but Roman refuses to be burdened with a sub-par name. _I am worth the best name!_ "HSS!"

"Yeah, he seems to be really stuck up about it…" Virgil slips in, and Roman unleashes his displeasure on the emo Side. "HSSSS!"

"I got it! How about Princey?" Both Virgil and he look over at Remus, who shrugs. "He gives off a spoiled royal brat air, don't you think?" Virgil looks back down at him consideringly.

Roman thinks about it. He definitely does not like the reason for the name - _I am NOT spoiled! Or a brat!_ \- but he is pretty sure this is the best these two will be able to come up with for him. _And I AM a prince so I should be treated as such!_

He turns back to his brother and gives him a single nod to show his approval of the name. Virgil laughs behind him.

"I wasn't too sure about it, but after that pompous display I have to admit it works perfectly. Princey it is!"

Luckily for the two laughing Sides, they are saved from his wrath as dinner is called from the kitchen. Roman trots over there with a huff, ignoring the chortles behind him. _No respect for poor, cursed Princes!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OF COURSE Roman can't play dead like a possum! He is an ACTOR! :) 
> 
> P.S. This is why I settled on turning him into a possum. This gimmick right here. I hope it was worth it!
> 
> Also, I get to make fun of my other possum name in order to give Roman his true title, Princey. 
> 
> And for the record, Janus was giving a frustrated Dad look at the mess his Dark Sons were making. Roman has just never seen it and loves to be dramatic. He has a lot to learn...


	7. The Sleepover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman has dinner and a sleepover with the Dark Sides

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note that the Remus chapter was actually posted after this one, moving this chapter to 7 instead of 6. If you read this chapter when it was chapter 6, chapter 3 is the new addition.

It is only when he enters the kitchen that he remembers WHO was cooking. Roman freezes when Deceit looks over his shoulder at him.

"How ISN'T the damn possum more obedient than my own sons?" _Sons? So Deceit sees himself as the father figure here? Not a mob boss or something?!?_

"~Because he doesn't know you!~" Remus sings as he rushes in to take a seat at the table. The fact that the chaotic Side doesn’t even argue the position of son seems significant. Roman watches as his twin eyes the microwave before speaking. "And because he hasn't been banned from using the microwave-"

"OH MY GOD! You almost blew up the kitchen YESTERDAY!! Who puts gunpowder in the microwave?" Virgil yells as he rushes to another spot at the table. Remus sputters and comes up with REALLY BAD reasons - "would Thomas even feel it if I blew up the entire Dark Side?" - while Roman tries to figure out what to do next. The table has four chairs, but his current form would not be able to eat while sitting on one-

_EEP!_ He is pulled up and towards the table by an unknown force around his chest. Roman quickly looks around to find that Janus is holding the food in his two arms and a third - _He has an extra arm?!?_ \- picked him up on the way to the table. Considering the others don't comment on this NEW ARM, it must be well known down here. He is deposited on the table in the fourth spot, a plate quickly following suit in front of him.

"Now, does anyone know what possums DON'T eat?"

"They eat out of trashcans, so I say we put things in front of Princey and see what he likes!" Roman has conflicted feelings about his brother's description - _I will NOT eat trash_ \- but the ability to choose what foods he eats is worth bearing the stereotype. _Oh ,how I suffer!_

"You HAVEN'T already named him. Virgil, really?"

"What? I got caught up in the moment! And it was only a matter of time! That possum is -"

"Pretty awesome! We have to show you how good it is at playing dead!" Remus interrupts and Roman has to bask in the glow of his praise. _It IS what I do!_

An sampler of what the other Sides were eating is added to his plate. There is some lasagna - _which for some reason means we have to listen to Remus yell bitch lasagna a lot_ … - some garlic bread, and a side of green beans. Roman is at first worried about poisons in the food - _they were made by Deceit after all!_ \- but after watching the others dive into their meals, he gives in to the heavenly smells wafting towards his nose. He had not realized how hungry the LONG day had made him. _Either that or the villain certainly knows how to cook!_

Throughout his time eating, Roman gets the feeling the snake Side is watching him even though Janus never drops the flow of conversation with the others. When Roman finishes anything worth eating on his plate - _what even are these green beans doing on here? I will not be tortured!_ \- he looks around forlornly. The food has helped, but was not enough to fill his stomach.

Then Janus moves towards him, causing Roman to jump backward until his hind legs are touching the edge of the table. _Is he going to force me to eat the evil veggies? Is this the end?_ Instead, his plate is taken up and brought to the counter. _Ah, I will starve then. Well, if I had to choose between those two fates..._

Roman jumps again, one foot slipping off the table for a second before he catches himself, when Janus suddenly puts his plate back in front of him, a significant portion of lasagna now sitting on it. Some green beans are still there, but less than before. And they had been covered by some of the delicious tomato sauce from the main dish. Confused, he looks up at this strangely observant and confusing Side. He gets a stern look in return.

"I don't know much about possums, but I am NOT sure that green beans would be good for you. So you can have the rest of that first if you DON'T clean your plate!"

"Ha! Janus can't help but lecture the possum!" Remus taunts as Roman tries to come to terms with someone other than Patton going full Dad Mode on him. _He is actually pretty good at it…_ Roman thinks about how Patton would act if he left green beans on his plate, and it fills him with enough guilt to slowly start eating the vile things as the conversation picks up again.

An argument over who could have how many cookies for desert had given him a ton of entertainment as he completed his meal. The final compromise was two snickerdoodles, three thin mints, and an iced oatmeal cookie for all Sides. Virgil and Jamus take their time eating theirs, while Remus tries to shove them all in his mouth at once _. Minty cinnamon? Ew…_

Roman finishes his plate a little bit after the compromise was agreed upon, happily full this time. Again, Janus must have been watching him enough to see that he was done, because a snickerdoodle and an iced oatmeal cookie are placed on his plate by a scaley hand. Before Roman spend too much time marveling at also getting desert _\- As long as that oatmeal cookie doesn’t have any raisins_ \- Jamus changes the topic of conversation after a sigh at the others. "I guess Princey is NOT staying the night. Where is he supposed to sleep?"

"With me of course-" "HSSSSS!" _Not happening!_ Roman refuses to sleep in Remus's creepy room. _I will take the couch if needed!_

Virgil snickers."Your bed is a mess, isn't it?"

"I mean, there may be some unknown substances-"

" **Remus**! I thought we talked about **cleaning your goddamn bed!"** Roman flinches at the force Deceit puts in his voice, only to realize he is the only one. Virgil smirks over at Remus, who acts completely unworried about that wrath being centered on him. _Is…Is this like the threats and curse words before? Just a more aggressive Dad-ing?_ It boggles his mind, but no other explanation makes sense.

"Well if I can't stay in my room, then you must be offering to have a sleepover in yours!"

Janus growls. "I DIDN'T just tell you to wash your sheets before bed. That DOES include a sleepover in my room-"

"Wow Janus that is so nice of you. Of course we will accept your invitation!" Virgil slyly adds, giving an eyebrow raise and a smirk at the glare he gets in return. Roman raises his possum eyebrows at this _. Is no one here worried about a mad Deceit?_

When Janus only grumbles in response, all the while throwing out glares at everyone to no effect, he guesses the answer to that question is a resounding _NO_. The topic of conversation changes to random items, leading Roman to guess that they are all going to have a slumber party in the room of the snake Side. _I wonder what his lair even looks like?_

\----

_Well, I am disappointed. This is so mundane!!!!_

Not only were there no torture devices in the room, but it seemed almost... Cozy. The walls have snakes drawn all over them sure, and there were multiple heat lamps looming over a pile of blankets. A large TV was set up across from the pile. _Wait, he gets a TV in his room? I am going to get one in my room as soon as I get back!_ But what really stood out to Roman was the painting on the wall. It was of all three Dark Sides laughing together, and it was arranged on the wall beside the blanket pile, which must be Dec-Janus's bed. _Like an important family picture-_

"Dibbs on the center!" Remus screams as he jumps into the blankets. A protesting Virgil dives in shortly after. While a tussle between the two Sides ruffles the pile, D-Janus goes around to turn on the heat lamps. Roman watches as an overly fond expression crosses the Dark Side's face before he dives into the fight. _He seems to genuinely care about these two…_

Roman hesitantly approaches moving mound, unsure what to do. _Where do I go?_

One of the creepy spider arms reaches out to grab him. It takes all of his self control not to shriek or bite the THING now around him. _And if there was any squeaking, no one else heard it._ Luckily, it just pulls him up to dump him a few blankets in on the top of the pile . _Well, this isn't a BAD spot..._

"Now, enough fighting. We DON'T need sleep! Good Night!"

"Good Night! Don't let the bed bugs bite!"

"Remus, if you put bed bugs in here-"

"Relax, Virgil! Even if I do, that is what Princey is for!" _WHAT?!?_ "HSSS?!?"

"Remus, DO put any bugs in this bed or I WON'T never invite you in it again!"

"FINE! You two are no fun! Good Night, you snores!"

"Good Night, you crazy psychopath. Oh, and Janus!"

"Good MORNING. Now DON'T go to sleep!"

Roman waits for more fighting, or even complaining on sleeping so close to each other in this heap. None came. The other Sides peacefully fell asleep snuggled up to each other while he struggles with the implications. Well… kinda snuggled up. Remus is squeezing Virgil around the chest while somehow trying to do the same with his legs to Janus. Rather than be annoyed at the awkward position that puts them all in, Virgil and Janus just snuggle into it and quickly fall asleep. _They aren't at each other's throats down here. In fact, they truly seem to care about each other. It is… almost as if… I …_ An uneasy feeling floods him at this train of thought _._ He tries to shake it off.

_Whatever that is about, it can wait until tomorrow. With all these heat lamps…and the other Sides sleeping close by… I am feeling… a little sleepy... I can worry about it all tomorrow..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dad Deceit is not going to allow anyone, even a possum, to go hungry in his house! 
> 
> I am just going to put this analogy here:  
> Danger is to Mr Magoo as Self-reflection is to Roman.
> 
> And for some reason I cannot let go of Remus having a thing for destroying microwaves. So here it is again. Just because.


	8. The Sleepover Morning - Virgil's POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil put two and two together and gets that Remus is a kidnapper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Virgil is the next to figure it out. To be fair, Janus did not see Roman's acting.

It doesn't surprise Virgil when he wakes up first. The events of yesterday did not help him sleep too soundly. In fact, the only reason he did sleep was because he had gotten Janus to let them have another sleepover. If he had to spend the night alone with his thoughts, he would have been worrying all night about the elephant in the room. Or, well, the POSSUM in the room.

At first, he had thought that this was just another one of Remus's adopting strange animals from the Imagination phases. But even so, he doesn't ever remember the chaotic Side calling them 'guests'. It was always 'pets' or 'kids' or even 'foes' once - _I still don't understand what he had against that damn squirrel!_ It raised a red flag, but not a big one.

A red flag the size of China started flying in his brain when the damn thing was told to play dead. _That was NOT how a possum would play dead!_ It has to be a person changed into a possum. That was the only explanation for that display. But why would Remus not just tell him up front that a subject in the Imagination got turned into a possum? _He could have easily pointed that out in his room, but he instead went with it being a normal animal! And he stopped me from saying anything to Janus!_

And that leads to the sticking point of the possum's name. There is no way in hell that Remus just wanted to name an animal something as… banal as Princey. _He knew full well what he was doing._ But why is that a significant name? It is not a nickname that Remus uses with a lot of people. In fact, there is only one person that Virgil had ever heard Remus nickname Princey-

_Oh no… NO FUCKING WAY!!_ As he tries to brush off the thought that MUST have come from his darkest paranoia, he smacks Remus on his head, which is still using Virgil as a - _probably uncomfortable_ \- pillow. When the chaotic Side groans, he quickly puts his hand over his mouth, stifling the sound. Then shudders at Remus's retaliatory action. _Oh god. Did he have to lick it?!?Gross!!_

Virgil has Remus's full attention now, so he mouths "Is that your brother?" while pointing at the still sleeping possum, nestled snugly at the top of the sheet pile, with his free hand. The chaotic Side freezes, which is proof enough. Virgil grabs a pillow and shoves his face into it, quietly screaming.

_Only Remus would kidnap a fucking Light Side - his brother to boot! - and bring him here!!_ Once he is done with his mental break, he looks back up. Remus had obviously been waiting for this and sends him a uneasy smile.

"Surprise?" _Well, at least he is whispering…_ The urge to not pelt the stupid Side with a pillow overwhelms him for a second, but the ensuing pillow fight would definitely wake up either Janus or… Roman. _And then I won't have any answers as to what is happening here! At least not before Remus is either killed or grounded for life because HE KIDNAPPED HIS BROTHER!!_

"What is going on? Why is he a possum, and why is he here?!?" It takes all of his control to keep his voice as low as Remus's had been.

"I don't know why he is a possum, but I found him in my area of the Imagination. I couldn't leave him there, and you guys don't like it when I crash into the Light Side. He also did NOT tell me he is my bro, so I am just rolling with it. Maybe he just needs time for the spell to wear off?"

"Wait, wait. Spells in the Imagination can still affect us AFTER we leave?"

"This is the first time I am seeing it. My guess is, the Dragon Witch hit him with something big. He is the only one that could have the power to do this." _Okay, good to know. Avoid the Dragon Witch like the plague if I ever go to the Imagination again. Maybe just avoid the Imagination forever. There, that will fix it!_

"But… what do we do about him?!?" Virgil desperately points at the LIGHT SIDE curled up on JANUS'S BED. _He is going to flip when he finds out about this!!_

"I don't know! Just play it casual? If he isn't back to himself by the end of today, then we can go see if the stick-in-the-mud Light Sides might know what to do."

"What about Janus? He is going to kill us if he finds out we are hiding a LIGHT SIDE-"

"I am kinda curious how long it takes Janus to figure it out." Virgil tries to interrupt here, because he will be DAMNED if he is caught lying to the Dad Side about this, only for Remus to keep going . "I am not saying we lie to him, but only answer any questions he asks." A sly smile crosses that chaotic face. "Aren't you curious?"

_To be honest, not really. But..._ If he can focus on waiting for Janus to figure it out, then he can ignore all the AWFUL consequences of a LIGHT SIDE, who HATES all of them, here. _At least in this form he doesn't have a weapon… He probably can't summon his katana currently. Even if he could, he can't really swing it. So, if we have to have Roman here, having him in this possum form is better than in person!_

"…fine. But what do we do in the mean time? Because I am going to need a lot of fucking distractions to not worry about this!"

"We could wake the sleepy heads up with ice water-"

"That is definitely an index card after last time, Remus. NO"

"If I can't find the card then it doesn't exist! But fine... Want to see if Thomas is up?"

"It IS his breakfast time-"

"And it is always entertaining at breakfast time! He is guaranteed to do something stupid then!"

As Remus turns on the TV, and Janus starts waking up from the noise, Virgil tries to defend their host. "Oh come on. Surely he has realized his incompetence at making any breakfast food other than cereal. So this is going to be just watching him eat lucky charms-" The screen flickers on to show Thomas resolutely walking toward the stove. "Oh God, he is trying to cook again!" _Here we go… At least this is will keep my mind off of Roman while I try to make sure Thomas doesn't kill himself!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man it really sounds like Virgil is worried about a human Roman... And I am not setting anything up at all! :)


	9. The Breakfast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Dark Sides watch Thomas make breakfast and have some fun

"Oh God, he is trying to cook again!"

"Hahahaha!"

The shout and raucous laughter that followed startles Roman awake and he blearily looks around. The TV is now on and showing - _Is that Thomas in his kitchen?_ That is not a normal thing to see on a TV. Yet, as he stretches to sense his host, he gets the feeling that he is making breakfast. _They have a screen that shows them what Thomas is doing?_

"This IS going to go well…" 

The other three Sides are lounging in the blanket pile now, watching the TV like it was the finest trash reality show. Like they are just waiting for the inevitable train wreck. Virgil smirks and glances over at the others.

"Okay, bets in. What is he going to fuck up?"

"NOT burning his food until it is ineditable!"

"I am going with poisoning himself! For flavor!"

"Then I am going to go with breaking something."

Which, okay. Thomas was fully capable of all those disasters. But why were they rooting for them? Roman tries to sense Thomas so that he can give him some ideas… only to realize that their host feels like a distant vibe instead of the constant presence that he is used to. _Is this because I am a possum?!? I don't like it at all!_ How could he have not noticed the distance between him and Thomas. _What if he needs me?_ While he is stewing on those worrying thoughts, the others are still watching the show, unaware of his inner turmoil.

"Hey Virgil!"

"What, Remus?"

"You see Thomas putting that plastic plate on the heated stove?"

"…Yeah?"

"Do you know what happens when plastic burns? It can create hydrochloric acid vapors, and that can literally corrode your lungs. Have you ever seen lungs dissolve?"

**"DON'T PUT PLASTIC ON THE STOVE, THOMAS! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!"** The shout, full of the fear and unpleasantness and echoes that Roman associates with Paranoia, pulls him out of his spiral. _What just happened?_ He turns to see Thomas take off the plastic plate from the hot stove, hesitantly laughing at the mistake. _Wait, Paranoia used his crazy voice, and it just barely causes a reaction in Thomas? That is it?!?_

"Good thing you used your creepy voice, or else he could have poisoned himself. Then I would have won!" 

"I didn’t do it to stop you from winning, Remus!" "You DIDN'T do this to yourself, Remus."

"I was just telling him what burning plastic can do!" While they have been talking - yelling really - loud enough to have caused a reaction in Thomas in the Light Side, Roman watches in surprise as Thomas happily settles on making cereal instead of cooking. Their host is seemingly deaf to the Dark Sides now that the creepy voice is not being used. _Do they also have a hard time sensing Thomas down here? Is the Dark Side the reason I can’t sense him as well, instead of being suck in this form? Would Logan or Patton know about this?_

And speaking of talking, it has taken Roman a bit to realize he is understanding Janus's… unique wording. Janus always seems to emphasize a word when he means the opposite of it, which is confusing but predictable. In fact, the others decipher it so easily that it is only now that Roman realizes what was happening. He had just been going along with the other Side's reactions to the words that he did not realize that the Lying Side is living up to his name, but not using it to do anything evil with it. _Is it really that easy to tell when he lies? Why does he do that anyway?_

"And what did you think was NOT going to happen after?" _See! There it is again! If I knew this before, it would have really helped in dealing with him..._

"…fun and laughs?"

"When have I ever reacted to Thomas potentially POISONING HIMSELF with FUN AND LAUGHS?!?" _Wait, so that is NOT Virgil's plans when he yells? Fun at Thomas's expense?_

"THERE'S A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING!"

Remus throws the first pillow at Virgil, but misses the emo Side when he ducks. It did end up clipping Janus, who pulls out FOUR _\- I though he only had that one!_ \- extra arms and starts an all out war between the three Sides. Roman tries to navigate off the blanket pile without getting hit - _This is no fair! I am at a supreme disadvantage!_ \- dodging the swarm of hands grabbing for the pillows below him. Suddenly his surroundings blur as someone picks him up to about shoulder height. _What in the world-_

"Scratch his face off, Princey!" Remus's maniacal laughter follows him as he is THROWN at Virgil's face. _Nooo! I did not agree to this!_ All he can do while flying towards the Side currently blocking blows from Janus is scream "HSSSSSSS!"

Virgil glances over at the sound, and Roman gets a great view of his hilariously surprised face before he lands on it. He doesn't try to grab on knowing his nails would scratch his unfortunate victim - _Who I am not mad at. But if it was Remus's face right now_ … - and he feels gravity start to pull him down. Arms scoop him from underneath as he falls, then hold him securely to that emo jacket. _Saved by a Dark Knight! The arms are a little too tight, but I am more than happy to have too tight arms than be thrown in the air again!_

"WHAT THE FUCK REMUS! You can't just use Princey as a weapon!" _Too right! I am a Prince and not a weapon!_ Roman tries to glare at his brother, but he is all but completely restrained in his position. _Okay, I might not be so happy with this as I initially thought..._ He unsuccessfully tries to get himself some breathing room by wiggling against the constricting arms as Remus tries to defend himself.

"Why not? Is it because he apparently doesn't know how to scratch?" _Bring your face closer and I can prove that I do!_

"NO! You have an index card for this! 'Don't use other people as weapons' or something..."

"While I DISAGREE with your argument, I DO think that possums are covered under that index card..."

"Well then, he needs a new one!"

"Nah, the old one is fine… you ruin all my fun!"

"ISN'T it? You rarely make the index card's meanings broader than originally intended -"

"If he is willing to take it, then I say we just roll with it, Janus!" Claustrophobia is now riding Roman hard, so he calls out for help _. I need some space_! "Hsss HSSSS!"

"What? Oh, shit. Sorry Princey _!" At last, relief!_ The arms unfurl from around him and slowly lower him to the floor. He barely resists getting up on two feet and brushing himself off with his hands - _I gotta act like a possum_ \- and does a full body shake instead. _I am the best actor!_

_And now to deal with my AWFUL brother!_ He advances on Remus yelling at him the whole way - "Hss, hs HSSSS! HSSSS! Hssssssss"- but before he can get close enough to smack him - _Let's see what he thinks of his face being scratched off! He threw me, like, ten feet!_ \- a crashing sound is heard outside the room. Roman pauses, looking curiously at the bedroom door. _All the Dark Sides are in here, so what is that-_

"Hot Damn! Play time is early!" Remus squeals as he slams open the door and rushes out of the room, a mace materializing in his hand. Janus also runs after the chaotic Side, yelling about "DO fuck up the common room again!" Virgil hesitates and looks over at him.

"Hey Princey, you should stay here, since you might get hurt. We will deal with this." Then the emo Side pulls out those spider arms and races after the others. Roman contemplates that strange warning - _Why is Virgil worried about him going out there? Is there something going on?_ \- when he rushes out of the room. _I am a brave Prince who can help if there is something wrong! They don't need to protect me!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up, Roman single-handedly defeats all shadows! Just like he did the best impression of a possum playing dead... LOL 
> 
> And yes, Roman still hasn't figured out that anyone is on to him not being a possum...
> 
> If anyone is confused, Virgil is so worried about dropping Roman that he is accidentally squeezing him too tight.


	10. The shadow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman sees a Dark Side shadow for the first time

_I messed up! They need to protect me! Help!_ "HSSSSSS!"

When he had entered the common room, the Dark Sides were chasing after these... Shadow creatures, which were running on all fours and about the height of the other Side's hips. If he had seen them in the imagination he would have assumed it was one of Remus's creepy creations, but they seem to be adamant in getting rid of the things.

HOW they were getting rid of the creatures was just as strange. They would use a weapon - or in Virgil's and Janus's cases with their extra arms to block attacks and occasionally hit the things, but it seemed to only be a delaying tactic. In order to get rid of them completely, they would grab the creatures and… absorb them? _That is both creepy and disturbingly awesome at the same time…_

As each of the Dark Sides slowly worked through the large pack of the shadows - _my guess there are about twenty or so foes_ \- Roman looked down from the staircase. A flicker a little below him showed a shadow getting ready to jump off the railing and attack an unsuspecting Janus. _Not on my watch! I can help with one of these foul shades!_

He jumped and tried to swipe at the creature, only to barely clip it. An unpleasant feeling of jittery dread fills him, making his landing more uncoordinated than he wants to admit. _WHAT WAS THAT? That felt awful!_ Roman looks up at the creature only to see it facing his way. Even though it does not have any eyes, he still feels like it is now focused solely on its new prey. Him.

And that is how he is currently running around, dodging attacks from a shadow creature, and regretting some life choices. "HSSSSS!" _I MAYBE should have listened to Virgil, but that does not matter right now?!? How do I get rid of this thing? I don't want it touching me!!_

A quick glance back shows the shadow is keeping pace with him as he runs around the room. He dodges the swing of an arm aimed at his right side and notices the other Sides have not seemed to notice his predicament, still clearing out the handful of shadows left. _Guess I need to lead it closer to them._ Looking forward again, he changes direction and speeds towards his brother. _Help!_ "HSSS!"

A maniacally gleeful gaze lands on him. "Oh hey, Princey! You got something for me?" Remus dissipates his last shadow as Roman keeps running at him "That is so sweet! I can never turn down a chance for non-consensual hugs!" The chaotic Side lunges over Roman and tackles his pursuer, which slowly dissipates.

Roman slows to a halt, catching his breath _. That…was not…fun..at all!_

"What the fuck are you doing down here, Princey? I thought I told you we would handle it?!?" He looks over to see Virgil finish his last shadow while still glaring at him, a flash of purple flickering over his angry eyes. _Hey! I was the one trying to help you guys! It is not my fault these foul shades are not a creature I am used to defeating!_ "Hsss hss hs HSSSSS!"

"Don't yell at me! You're the one who could have gotten hurt!"

_I stopped one from attacking Janus!_ "HSSSSS hs hsssss HSSSS!"

"How about we DO continue arguing with a possum, and DON'T go round up any other shadows that are lingering here!" The shout broke through his epic debate with Virgil - _which I was totally winning!_ \- to look at the exasperated snake Side. He caught Virgil swinging towards him as well.

"What do we do with Princey while we're out? We can't bring him, and we can't leave him alone! What if the shadows come back? Did you see what he just tried to do? He is crazy!" _I was being heroic you dense storm cloud of negative emotions!_ "HSSSSS HSS HSSSSSSS … HSSSSSSSS!"

Janus rolls his eyes as Remus cackles. "Fine! Remus, you DON'T stay here while Virgil and I go looking for any more shadows!" _That shut my brother up!_ The following glare leveled at him and his twin was very intimidating. "I expect this place to be NOT **exactly** as it is now!" After a couple more tense seconds - _Patton needs to take notes from Janus on scary Dad vibes!_ \- he calls over to Virgil.

"Let's go. The sooner we leave, the LATER we can come back and assess the damage…"

Virgil sent an equally concerned and pissed off look back at them before heading out with Janus. Roman sits for a beat in silence, trying to figure out why the snake Side was so sure there would be more damage. _What is Remus going to want to do?_ He looks hesitantly at his brother, who is looking around the room in consternation before focusing on him.

"Well Princey, what the fuck do you want to do?" _And that is the question, isn't it? What do Remus and I have in common?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What ARE they going to do? :)


	11. The Sibling Bonding Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus and Roman have been left alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could tell you that Roman is oblivious as all get out... but I just want more shenanegans. So here we go!!

Roman stares critically at the wall in front of him, considering. _It needs more yellow_ he finally decides, and turns around to find the appropriate paint can. _It has to be around here somewhere!_

*thud, thud, thud, thud, thud*… *SPLAT*….. *Thud* *laugh* "Well, what do you think Princey? Does the red add more… flavor to it?"

Roman looks up to see the new body splatter of Remus on the wall. He tilts his head to see if that would give him a better idea of what his brother is going for. _Nope, still lots of Remus-running-and-hitting-the-wall splatters…But I do like the red color…very bold._ "Hssss."

"Yeah, I like it too! How about if I add a little more… green?" Before Roman can comment - _It COULD use some more green… whatever it is -_ Remus conjures up a can of bright green paint, dumps it on himself. If he tilted his head up with his mouth open as green fell on him, Roman ignores it. _Remus has drunk enough paint already that if it was going to hurt him it would have. And it is not like I can do anything_ … Instead he watches as the paint-drenched Side takes a running start at the wall. "Just got to throw yourself into your art!" he screams as he launches himself into the air, only to splat against the wall and fall to the floor with a heavy thud.

The first time this had happened, Roman had run over to his brother to make sure he had not hurt himself. But that was at least an hour ago, and he has become pretty used to the action now. The trick had been not to get covered in paint with all the paint throwing going on. Roman is quite proud that to keep the paint on his front paws and, of course, his hind ones because the floor is COVERED in paint.

After quickly glancing over to make sure Remus is okay as he rolls on the floor, Roman goes back to looking around for that sneaky yellow paint can. _It has got to be around here somewhere! IF only I could conjure one up!_

When Remus had offered painting on the wall, Roman had been skeptical. Not only did that seem like a bad idea - which he then revised after listening to the number of times that Remus has done it - but he was not sure how he could paint without showing he was not a normal possum. Then inspiration struck. _I will use my hands as flower heads and paint a flower-filled landscape, but they will only see a possum pressing his hands to the wall. Perfect!_

It did not take long for the common room walls to be covered by either Remus's body splatter and possum hands. It had actually been the most relaxing quality time he has ever had with his brother-

"AH, hide!" Remus yells before, somehow, fitting his whole body under the low couch _. I can't even fit my body under there!_ A trail of green streaks after him, but the rest of the floor is covered with so much paint, it is hardly noticeable. _How did he do that?!? Does he have magical powers or something?_ Unfortunately, he had been too focused on watching Remus perform his stunt to take in his words. _Why is he hiding-_

" **What ISN'T going on here?!?"** Roman spins to see Janus and Virgil have come back from their shadow hunt. As the snake Side's angry glare takes in the room before zeroing in on him, Roman freezes. _Left to take the blame by my own kin! The trials that a poor Prince has to endure!_ After a second of the glaring he realizes that his paint covered hands are clearly visible. _If I hide my hands maybe they won't know I helped! Great! Just got to keep this subtle._ He slowly curls them into his chest so the paint can no longer be seen, watching Janus to see if he noticed. The fuming Side never even looked at him, too busy making some very angry noises while looking at the walls. _There! Quest completed like a hero!_

A chuckle is heard from behind the seething Side, and Roman focuses on Virgil looking around at the damage. "Well, they certainly kept themselves busy… And the microwave was left alone!"

"Indeed." Roman quickly refocuses on the source of danger, Janus. "And **what** exactly happened here? It DOESN'T look like a tornado hit the wall with paint cans" A moment of indecision flashes through him - _Maybe if I explain…oh wait, I can't talk -_ before he glares back at the intruder _. Hey! This is art! Well, mine is a super secret masterpiece! And Remus's is…ah... abstract!_ "Hssss!"

"Where is Remus?" _I will not betray my brother!_ "HSSSS!" A scaled eyebrow is cocked in his direction.

"Refusing to answer, huh? And standing alone in the middle of this mess? That is NOT bold!" Janus starts to advance toward him, causing Roman to freeze. _What do I do?!?Run? Fight?!?_

As indecision keeps Roman frozen, the snake Side passes the couch and a strangely flexible arm reaches out from underneath and grabs a leg. "Never let your guard down!"

"Argh, gross Remus! You are COVERED in paint!" Virgil complains as Janus avoids hitting the paint-covered floor by flinging himself onto the couch instead, the painted arm bending in impossible ways to keep a hold on him. Roman cocks his head at the emo Side, more confused by that statement than the now HISSING - _Remus apparently was telling the truth about that_ \- Janus wrestling the hand off his ankle. _How else do you think those Remus-shaped splotches got on the walls?_

"Looks like NEITHER you and the possum need a bath!" shouts the scaley Side as he finally wrenches the hand off of him. _What? My hiding my paws was perfect!_ He glares at Janus only to see him smirking in at him. "I would TOTALLY be mad at me instead of the UNKOWN Side that put a paint-covered hand on your back!" _What?!?_ _I didn't feel wet paint on my back at any time!_ Roman twists as far as he can to try to see the offending mark, only to realize in the movement he exposes his paint-covered paws. A quick look confirms that a now laughing Janus sees them. It dawns on him that he just got played. _Tricking me? You Vile Villain!_ "Hss HSSSSSS!"

"Remus, wash off and make sure the POSSUM is NOT clean too!" Janus yells, coming over to scoop up the still hissing Roman, striking a blow to his ego. _I am giving GREAT threats and he acts like he can't even hear- oh…_ Before Roman realizes what Janus has planned, he is ONCE AGAIN launched into the air - _What is with these Sides and throwing me?!?_ \- towards his brother, who thankfully catches him even though he does not look away from his argument with Virgil.

"Look, I didn't look at the label when I conjured it. How am I supposed to know if it had lead in it?"

"How about you look at the fucking label before you fucking drink it!" _Wait, this could have been lead paint?_ Now he was definitely worried about how much Remus had drank. Because he drank a lot.

"I don't know what is the big deal? Who hasn't drank a gallon, or seven, of lead paint-"

" **I DO want to hear it Remus! Clean up or you WILL be invited to the sleepover tonight! I am this close to letting Virgil give you something to throw up all that paint!** " _Scary Dad is back!_ It seems that Remus got the same feeling, as he makes his way upstairs, still complaining but not slowing down, to the bathroom. It is then he realizes what is about to happen; his brother is going to try to bathe him _. That is not happening! I just need a plan…_

By the time they make it to the bathroom, Roman has a _\- hastily made_ \- plan to enact. As soon as they pass the doorway, he wiggles until he is let down _. Step one complete_. He then yelles, i.e. hisses, anytime Remus tried to pick him up, exacerbating his brother. _This plan is iron-clad!_

"Look, you have to get clean _!" I can clean myself on my own!_ "Hssssss!"

A pause, before Remus tries again. "… Do you want to bathe yourself or something?" _Yes! He gets it! The plan is coming together! I am a genius!_ "HSSSSS!"

A considering look, before the chaotic Side grabs the soap and puts it on the floor of the shower, then turns the water on. "There! Clean off by yourself! But I refuse to get in trouble with Janus if you do a bad job!"

Victory well in hand, Roman struts into the shower, ignoring the very unkind comments from his brother _\- Some of those comments were impressively imaginative!_ \- and takes his time cleaning himself off. It takes a while, considering he is working only a soap bar and not his normal fifteen product beauty regime. By the fifteen minute mark, Remus is loudly complaining on the other side of the curtain - "You are like, what, fifteen pounds? How is it taking you this long? Are you trying to drown? If so, I could pull you a bath!" - only to be ignored. _A prince has got to slay! No matter his form! Or the quality of his hair products!_

By the hour mark, Remus was threatening some very specific ways to kill him - "Vlad the Impaler will have nothing on me if you don't get the fuck out of the shower!" - when Roman finally emerged. _Perfectly clean and ready for anything!_ Only to be pushed aside as his ungrateful brother rushes into the stall. "Dinner is in, like, fifteen minutes! And I have WAY more paint on me than you, you vain trash rat!" _I am translating that to mean he is completely jealous how well I turned out. As he should be, I look amazing!_

Roman scrambles up to the mirror by the sink, rubs against the hand towel to get himself dry, and brushes his fur out with his fingers while his brother takes a MORALLY OFFENSIVE SHORT shower. He has barely been able to check himself over for any knots _\- for the second time_ \- when Remus is grabbing him and carting him to the kitchen, only to receive NO admiration for his efforts. _Oh, the barbarity here! All Logans and no Pattons!_

Dinner was similar to last night. A sampler was put in front of him, while the Dark Sides bicker and joke through the meal. Some of it was heckling Remus for how long they took in the bathroom, but his twin weathered the jokes well. Even so, Roman's plate keeps getting refilled with things he likes - with a few green beans thrown in - until he is full. All thanks to the villainous Dad Deceit. And he even got a thin mint with his snikerdoodle and iced oatmeal cookie. _Sweet!_

Once Janus is done cleaning the dishes, yelling at the other two Dark Sides about chores they are supposed to do but clearly don't, they all head back up to Janus's room and the blanket pile there. They turn on the TV to watch a show called Rick and Morty, and all the Dark Sides snuggle into the pile while Roman takes his position back on the top. This time Janus in the middle with Virgil and Remus settling in on either side of him without any fuss. If you didn't count Remus screaming "Body Pillow!" in Janus's ear and clinging to him like a deranged koala. _Considering the lack of reaction from everyone, I don't think it counts._

As the others fall asleep below Roman, the chill of the Dark Side starts to seep into his position on top of the blanket pile. Even with the heat lamps focused on them, this constant low-level cold seems to hover in the air. _It is strange to be somewhere that is always this…cold._ He looks down at the other sleeping Sides and decides to chance wiggling closer for body warmth.

He gets within a blanket of the others when an arm grabs him and pulls him closer. Still snoring, Remus had pulled Roman in and is now cuddling him like a stuffed animal. Roman thinks about complaining and escaping, but the warmth is kinda nice. His eyelids become heavy, and he falls into a deep sleep. His last thought flashing through his mind. _You know, the Dark Sides really aren't that bad. I could get used to this..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There were some good ideas on what to do, but a lot I wanted one that would let my oblivious Roman think he was still undetected... which shortened the list by a lot!! So painting it is!!
> 
> And, I mean, did anyone believe that Roman WOULDN'T hog the shower??
> 
> He is soooo close!! But not there yet!! Because Roman isn't the only one who likes tension for drama's sake! Mwah hahaha!! :)


	12. Painting - Janus POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Janus and Virgil return after leaving Remus alone with the possum.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is up later than normal but still out today! Now for the fun...Janus's turn!!

Janus sighs as he opens the door from the rest of the Dark Side to the common room. _What sort of craziness has Remus gotten up to?_

It went against his first instinct to leave Remus alone, even if it was with a possum that the chaotic Side seemed delighted to be around. But Virgil seemed to have some strong reactions to the animal. It seemed like there was tension in the Anxious Side when he was in the room with it, at least after last night. So, separating him and the possum seemed like the best choice. At least until he knew what was going on.

If he was being honest with himself, things were not adding up with that "possum". _Remus always fought to keep the rules on his index cards as limited as possible, and never just … adds new parts to them!! Also, that possum definitely seems to react to us talking more than a normal animal!_ It wouldn't be the first time that Remus had brought some strange kinda-creature from the Imagination - _That squirrel he declared war on had way too much rage for a normal animal_ \- but something about this animal seemed… different.

Then he had looked at the paint on the wall of the common room. At first he was relieved by the lack of destruction to the room. No broken furniture, and only paint on the walls. There was of course the splotches of Remus everywhere, but then he looked close to the ground-

_The possum had created a flower meadow with its hands._ He would have thought Virgil was rubbing off on him - _a possum, create art?_ \- but there was no other explanation. The portrait in front of him can't be anything other than a flower-covered hills made with possum hands. The multi-colored hills even have realistic shadows from a low sun. _There is_ ** _no way_** _a normal possum would have been able to paint this! Not even one from the Imagination! And no way Remus doesn't know that..._

And so here he is, one anxious Side growing tense when he is near the not-possum, and the other playing deliberately ignorant. Janus had a mind to immediately call out what was going on, but even he realized that that was the fastest way to a chaotic argument and NOT to actually getting the facts. So he played ignorant, until the "animal" went to take VERY long shower, as Remus yelled at it in the bathroom _. If it was anyone other than Remus, I would be hurt how conspicuous he is being about this!_ In that time, he cornered Virgil in the kitchen. The worried yet resigned look thrown his way before the anxious Side stared at the floor was the final nail in the coffin. _He definitely knows something._

"What is NOT-"

"The possum is Remus's brother but we don't know how or why he hasn't changed back to his normal self yet!" _And this is why I ask him first- wait,_ ** _what_** _?!?_ As this new information sinks in, Virgil shrugs and sighs.

"Look, I asked Remus what the hell was going on, and got that he was, and I quote, just rolling with it. We were kinda hoping that whatever turned Roman into a possum would have faded once he got out of the Imagination." Virgil shudders. "On a side note, I am never stepping foot in that place if it affects us outside of it. Just FYI."

Janus tries to gather his thoughts. "So, that… possum is Roman? Thomas's Light Side Creativity?" _You know, a lot of things fall into place if that is the case. The offended look it gets and the art being the top two..._ "And he has gotten… stuck in that form? For at least a full day? **Why didn't you two tell me**?!?" _That cannot be good for both Roman and Thomas!_

Virgil fidgets uneasily. "I don't really know what is going on, and Remus seems to be having fun with his brother. It is nice that he can't wield his sword at us…" _Yeah, when is the last time I have seen the Light Creativity without a sword being pointed in my direction?_ "Remus wanted to see how long it took you to figure it out, and I was using that to distract myself from the fact that SOMETHING CAN TURN US INTO ANIMALS FOR APPARENTLY FOREVER-"

Realizing that Virgil is on the cusp of a downward spiral, Janus grabs both his shoulders and stares hard at Virgil. "Here is the plan. We act ignorant tonight and hope he turns back. If not, I'll go see if the other Light Sides may have an idea what is going on. He can't be gone for too much longer or Thomas will most likely start feeling adverse effects from this."

Janus pulls Virgil into a hug and states firmly "I am on the case. This will be solved soon. The only thing to worry about is what the hell is taking those two so long in the bathroom." _Which, if I did not know Remus's vain brother was in there, I might be a little more worried about._ But the comment had the desired affect, causing Virgil to chuckle and relax.

"Yeah, I never knew Remus to take more than five minutes in a shower-"

"Bold of you to assume that Remus is the one taking so long! What other obvious clues await us with this 'possum'?" As Virgil fully relaxes, falling back into his seat at the table laughing, Janus internally sighs. _One issue down, one to go._

\----

The next morning, Janus enacts his plan of acting like he is going to fight shadows, but instead go to the Light Side for help. Virgil caught on when he told the anxious Side to be the one to come get him if he was gone for more than four hours, and he is certain that Remus is just going to roll with whatever is happening. The only one he has to fool with his exit is Roman.

Janus works on a plan of going to the Dark Side then sneakily doubling back to get to Remus's room when he realizes that he is overthinking the whole thing _. Roman has no idea which way we go to get to the Dark Side!_ With that fact starting him in the face, Janus instead walks straight to Remus's room from the kitchen and enters the Imagination.

While the … oddities that he sees there - _I am never going to be able to look at blobfish normally ever again! -_ are distracting, he makes good time to Roman's door. _Okay, let's do this._ With a fortifying breath, he moves into the Light Side.

Roman's room is exactly as he would think. _Fit for a Prince who has deep self esteem issues. We really should look into addressing that...._ He quickly moves to the other door. Listening for noise outside of it - _Wow, you can really hear a lot through these things_ \- Janus guesses that the other Sides are talking downstairs.

_It is now or never._ He opens the door and calmly - _at least externally_ \- makes his way down the stairs. In the common room, Morality - _Patton_ \- and Logic - _Logan_ \- are talking about Roman.

"But Logan! He normally shows up for at least one meal a day! We should go check on him!"

"While his absence from our meals is… abnormal, we don't have enough information about where Roman could be or how the Imagination works to be able to assist him. Anyways, the most probable scenario would be that he got engrossed in one of his plots and has forgotten meals. While bad for his wellbeing, it does not have long lasting effects-" _And that is a perfect spot to interject!_

"So you two DO know why Roman is trapped in the body of a possum?" Janus makes sure to pull out a sinister air. _I should definitely take advantage of being seen as a villain…_

"What-"

"DECEIT!" Janus rubs his ringing ears, a little pissed. _I mean, does Logan always have to do that? And always at the top of his lungs?!?_ But he can't help but make fun of the obvious observation.

"Wow, you figured it out! With my snake face showing and everything. GOOD JOB!" He slow clapped, knowing this was not being appreciated by the other Sides, but it makes him feel better. _And after having to deal with a possum Side I deserve some fun!_

"Why are you here?" Logan responds, placing himself between Janus and Patton.

"I am here because you AREN'T missing a Light Side." Janus retorts, ignoring the move. _It's not like he is a physical threat. He tries to attack me and I open a portal to the Dark Mindscape..._ "So you haven't seen Creativity in a while? SURPRISING."

Patton jumps to Logan's side, looking worried. "What did you do to him?!?"

"Nothing, and I resent the question." Giving time for that to settle in, noting that they don’t relax at the news _\- maybe they are smarter than I give them credit for_ \- Janus continues "And yet, he is still in the Dark Side in the form of a possum. Hanging out with the others currently..." Janus retorts, then raises an eyebrow at Logan's expression. Confusion is quickly being drowned by curiosity as Logan makes a notebook appear and starts writing in it. _Well, that was…not the reaction I was expecting._

At least Patton doesn't disappoint, jumping up and gasping. "Oh no! We have to save him!" He starts to rush up the stairs, before Janus stops him. "And how do you think you will get there in any reasonable amount of time? Need I remind you, you would have to navigate through Remus's part of the Imagination to get there? You DO want to get lost in that part of the Imagination." _And that is just what I need, Patton lost in Remus's Imagination while Roman is still a possum with us. I am sure that Thomas would not feel any affects with that!_

"Well then, Deceit" Logan has apparently done with his writing, snapping the notebook closed "it seems that we would greatly benefit from you escorting us to the Dark Side."

He scoffs at that. "OF COURSE NOT. That WASN'T my plan all along-"

"Well then, could you put aside your plans for now and escort us?" _This is not the first time Logan has reacted literally to an obvious lie, but it still grates EVERY TIME!_ Patton jumps in to second that idea.

"Yes! Roman left alone with Remus and Paranoia" - Janus rolls his eyes at Patton using the Light Sides name for Virgil. _Yes, let's all fear my anxious son, who freaks out at the drop of a hat… both figuratively and literally!_ "- for even a minute is too long! What are they doing to him even now?" _Maybe painting on the walls again. Hopefully they will keep it in the common room, and not break into my room to paint the walls…Again…_ Janus has had enough of this conjecture _\- and his internal worries_ \- and interrupts.

"Roman is NOT perfectly safe down there! The are probably NOT just hanging out." At Patton's incredulous look and Logan's agreement with his LITERAL statement - _Just keep it together. Don't strangle Thomas's Logical Side…You will regret it later..._ \- Janus sighs and gives up. He sneaks around Patton and heads to Roman's room. He is not sure if it is better or worse when he hears the other two following him. _At this point, I can take them or leave them…But if they can help figure out how to change Roman back, then it will be worth it._

"Come on, the sooner we get down there, the sooner you WON'T see."

"Will we not be able to see because the Dark Side is literally dark -"

"New rule! Logan can't talk until we get down there! Good? Great!!" _The shit I have to put up with! Oh well, at least I can rub it in their faces that Roman is fine when we get down there._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course Roman, Virgil, and Remus will just be hanging out when Janus gets back down there ... *looks at general idea I have for the story* ...yeah... nothing to worry about.... *refuses to make eye contact* 
> 
> And this is to prove what others were saying before, Roman fooled no one... except himself :)


	13. The Disney Marathon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman, Remus, and Virgil wait for Janus to get back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was supposed to have Janus come back, but it was getting long, so that will happen in the next chapter.

Roman woke up when the body underneath him started moving. _Five more minutes..._ "hssss…"

"What's wrong, Princey? Didn't get enough sleep?" _Well, that is considerate of Virgil to ask-_

"I mean, have you seen him? He needs all the beauty sleep he can get!" _WHAT?!? SLANDER! FROM MY OWN BROTHER!!_ "HSSSSS!"

He jumps up and turns to unleash his wrath - with AMAZING zingers in hiss form! - on the two unaffected and laughing Sides. Even Janus is chuckling, unsuccessfully hiding it behind his hand. _I keep forgetting they are Dark Sides, until moments like these. The villainy is rampant!_

Luckily for the other Sides, Roman's stomach rumbles then. Considering he needs the others to make him food, he decides to magnanimous... THIS time. He pointedly ignores the laughter around him and walks to the kitchen. Thankfully none of those CREEPY shadows are downstairs as he led the party to the kitchen. _I can only take so much abuse each morning!_

Breakfast was similar to the past dinners, except with a lot more pancakes. Insults and threats are still thrown about the room in a way that does no damage, and his plate never goes empty under the watchful-yet-still-cryptic mismatched eyes.

Once the dishes had been cleaned by a still yelling snake Side, the other two seem to settle down, expectant. Roman can't help being drawn into the mysterious atmosphere. All of them look at Janus, who takes a moment to put up some hideously yellow silicon gloves he had used while washing the dishes. Everyone seems to wait with baited breath until he lays out the schedule for the day.

"Okay, here is what is NOT going to happen. I am NOT going to… check for shadows while the rest of you stay here. If any of them get past me, you DON'T know what to do." At this Remus cackles and Virgil smirks.

"While I am gone, you SHOULD wreck the place." A glare is sent to all three of them individually. Roman is still uncertain why he is lumped in with the others _\- I haven't broken anything_! - but before he can complain, Janus continues.

"If I AM back after four hours, then someone come looking." With a significant look at Virgil - _I guess he wants him to look for him_ \- the snake Side leaves the room. An unpleasant thought flashes through Roman's head - _Is fighting shadows really that dangerous? Could they actually get hurt here?!?_ \- but he chooses to ignore it for now. _It's not like I can ask them about it!_

As he continues to look at the kitchen doorway where Janus left, the conversation of the other Dark Sides around him filters through.

"So what the fuck do you want to do now?"

"Well, we did have fun painting yesterday-"

"I am NOT throwing myself against a wall!"

"Well then what do you propose, Mr. Scaredy-Pants?!?"

"…What about a movie marathon?" That definitely got his attention, his ears unconsciously going up. The beat of silence after that question had Roman looking up at the other Sides, only to see they were looking at him.

"Looks like Princey wants a movie marathon!~" Remus yells, heading out of the kitchen. It takes a minute for Roman to work his way down from the table to the chair to the ground in order to follow his brother. Virgil was already arguing in the common room with Remus when he finally got there.

"I am not watching horror movies!"

"Well then, what else are we going to watch?!?"

 _Do they have Disney?_ "Hsss?" Both Dark Sides pause and look over at him. Knowing that they can't understand him doesn't stop the use of puppy eyes. _Can we please watch Disney?_ "hssssss?"

Remus rubs the back of his neck. "Oh yeah, we gotta watch something that Princey will like…"

"So, like what?"

"I don't know, probably something lame like Disney-" _Yes! Disney please!_ "HSSSS!"

"That's fine. Which one?" _What?!?_ Both Roman and Remus stare at Virgil, aghast. The emo Side then seems to notice the twin looks of astonishment and shrugs. "What? I, too, am a Disney fan."

"…But why?" Remus's flabbergasted look was starting to get on Roman's nerves. _Disney movies are about love conquering all and Princes saving the day! Who wouldn't be a fan?_ "Hsss!"

Virgil smirks down at him before looking at his brother. "Yeah, I doubt it is whatever Princey just said. But really, all Disney movies have dark undertones to them that I enjoy." _Slander!_ "HSSSSSS!!!"

Remus starts to laugh as Roman advances on Virgil. "Oooh! Finding dark stuff in kids movies?!? I am in!~" Roman hisses as he is picked up - _without being asked! Does anyone have manners here?!?_ \- and moved to the couch. Remus flops down still holding him. _Ooof!_ "Hssss!"

"How about this-" Remus says, ignoring Roman's disproval at being moved "- We watch Disney movies and Virgil and I get to point out dark things in them. Then you can judge yourself if it is true or if Virgil is just pulling it out of his ass" A gleam flashes through his brother's eyes as his grin gets wider " like a giant dildo! Or maybe a porcupine-"

"Okay one, I am not pulling this out of my ass! And two, no one is going to help you pull porcupine spines out of your ass, so don't do it. Not again..." Before Remus can respond, Virgil continues on. "Now, which one should we start with? An obvious one would be Beauty and the Beast because of the-"

"-Stockholm syndrome -" "~Stockholm syndrome!!~" _Stockholm syndrome…_ "hss hsss hsss hssss…"

"-but that won't be fun to point out the whole time. So… how about Aladdin?"

"Isn't that the one where a genie is enslaved and confined in a tiny space for thousands of years? I am in!~" Roman settles down on the couch while Remus conjures up a working blue ray of the movie and a giant bowl of strange-smelling popcorn. Roman timidly grabs a piece and tries it. _It tastes like flaming hot cheetos covered in whipped cream…Surprisingly not too bad, if you ignore the strangeness!_ He grabs some more as the title screen appears and the first song starts to play, ready to enjoy a classic. _What is Virgil going to possibly find that is bad about Aladdin?_

\----

The music over the credits is playing, not that Roman can hear it, too busy glaring and hissing at the WORST MOVIE WATCHING PARTNER EVER!

"Hiss all you want, Princey, but he won Jasmine's heart only by lying and deceiving his way right into the castle _!" He came clean in the end_! "Hssssss hs hss HSSSS!"

"And that whole 'I was going to tell you' bullshit would have set off Janus! He had all the chances in the world, but had to get outed by the villain!" _Oh come on!_ "HSSS hsss hSSSS"

"Boys, boys, stop fighting, you are both pretty! Which I can change if you don’t choose a new movie! Ignoring the fact that neither or you want to discuss how badly Aladdin would have been squished by that rolling tower... this is fun! How about the one with the octopus?" That suggestion gave Roman pause, as he tried to figure out why Remus wanted to watch Finding Nemo. _… Because the mom gets eaten?_

"…You mean The Little Mermaid?" _Ohhh! That makes more sense! Of course he would like Ursula!_ Roman settles back down in his spot, with only a dozen dirty looks sent over Virgil's way, while Remus is setting up the next blu ray. _Truly, I am showing great restraint!_

The movie starts and this time the comments weren't as bad. Well, they were still pointing out stupid decisions, but Roman finds himself agreeing to some of them _. Can you imagine how much easier it would have been for Prince Eric if Ariel wrote down who she was as soon as she got up there? Maybe even played charades if needed?_

Following that realization, Roman turns to look at the other two Sides engrossed in the movie. Though he is complaining, Virgil truly looks like he is enjoying the movie. Even Remus is having fun with the shipwreck and chef scenes - _cheering for the chef to get Sebastian, of course_. No one can look at these two now and see BAD GUYS. The way they have treated him while he has been here, and the way they treat each other - yelling and fighting yes, but always with laughter and care mixed in between - makes it clear that they AREN'T Bad Guys.

Rowdy and vulgar, sure, but they fight strange shadow things down here that Roman and the other Sides don't know about much less have to deal with in the Light Side. It makes sense that fighting together a lot would lead to play fighting together as well. _The fighters in my realm can also be rough-and-tumble as well, but I never realized that was how Remus was acting to me… Because I didn't like him._

And now the elephant in the room, the one he has trying to avoid since he started getting along with the others, lumbers forward and trumpets through its trunk. _I have treated them badly because I assumed they were bad. Yelling at all of them, and even attacking Remus if he visited me in the Imagination. He didn't treat me any differently than the others when he is playing, but instead of laughing, I yelled and attacked him for real. Paranoia was only trying to get Thomas's attention, but I treated him badly whenever he did, just because it was a little creepy. Even Janus, the supposed lying liar, still treats a stray animal Remus brings here better than I ever treated him. Knowing all of that, who is the bad guy here? Because… it's starting to look like it's me…_

The realization hits him hard, and he curls up as it, and its implications, resonate through him. _I have been the bad guy here. I am the one who messed up._ Desperation rises up, making his throat burn like he has been yelling for hours. _I didn't know… I have to make it up to them! Apologize and make any other amends I need to! To show that I realize I was wrong and I am sorry and I didn't realize and it won't happen again-_

"Hey Princey, you doing okay over there? I just called the prince a jerk and you didn't even notice?" Virgil's voice barely brings Roman out of his emotional spiral, leaving him shaky but resolute. _But how do I start? I can't even apologize because I am stuck in this stupid form-_

Under the increasingly worried eyes of the Dark Sides, Roman first starts to glow. Then, with a blinding flash, he changes back into his human form.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He FINALLY did it!! And of course Roman gets a flashy transformation. We will just have to see how the others handle it :)


	14. The Apology

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman has been turned back to a Human and can now talk to Virgil and Remus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now they can all calmly talk about their feelings, right?

Roman blinks his eyes rapidly, trying to get his sight back. His head hurts so with a groan, he reaches up to rub his temples. "What was-"

He freezes, as he hears a HUMAN VOICE. The hands on his face, his NOT HAIRY FACE, are HUMAN hands with NO CLAWS. His awkward position is because he is curled up like he was a moment ago, but in HUMAN FORM!

"I'm me again-" *WHAM* A pillow slams across his face, causing him to sprawl on the couch. A body lands on his chest and something squeezes his arms against his chest, immobilizing them. After struggling for a bit, the light spots finally fade enough for him to see his attacker, only to blink owlishly at Virgil sitting on his chest, pillow above his head. Those spider arms squeezing tight against his limbs.

"I mean, not that I haven't ever greeted Roman with a blunt object to the face, but I am not sure why you are doing this now?" Remus asks in a way-too-flippant tone for Roman's liking. He looks pleadingly over at his brother - _Help? Please??_ \- only to receive a chuckle and a small wave in return.

"He can summon his katana and attack us now. But not if he can't use his arms!" Virgil yells, holding the pillow a little higher, getting ready to hit him again. _No thank you! The first time was enough!_ But this did give him an opportunity on addressing his past - _horrible_ \- behavior.

"Virgil, I do not intend to attack either of you. Actually, I would like to have a discussion with you two, and Janus when he comes back. But I feel I can better express myself if I was sitting up and not restrained?" _It is hard to make the grand gestures needed to show my sincerity like this!_

As soon as he finished his sentence, Virgil is already shaking his head rapidly. "No, Nuh-uh. That is just a ploy so you can summon a weapon. You always summon a weapon against us. So you will this time, if given a chance, I just know it!" Roman tries not to let frustration get the better of him - _I want to apologize and you are making it difficult!_ \- and tries again. "I am not-"

"You might as well give up there, Princey. Looks like Virgil has decided that you WILL attack us. We can either argue until Janus gets home, which is a little over an hour, or we can figure out how to keep you from being able to summon anything while still being comfortable." Remus tilts his head from side to side before he grins. "We could always cut off your arms _-" WHAT?!?_ " - then you won't be able to USE any hand-held weapon you summon-"

"We are not going to cut off his arms!! Just…restrain them or something..." Quickly focusing on the sane Side on top of him - _well, more sane. He still is holding up that pillow in a very threatening manner, but at least he doesn't want my arms taken off!_ \- he decides to work with his suggestions.

"So if my arms are tied up, then we can sit down and have a normal conversation?" He asks hopefully. Virgil, still eyeing him suspiciously, nods. "Great! Let's work with that! How do you want my arms tied up?"

\----

Since Roman is now admitting that he can be wrong, it is easier to admit to this second things he was apparently wrong about. _I gave these two WAY more credit for being dastardly than they deserve. Especially considering this past… negotiation._

It had taken them the better part of an hour to finally agree to terms, with Virgil looming over him, pillow at the ready, and Remus breaking into laughter and offering the least helpful suggestions - _No, I do not want to get awkward-hugged by an octopus!_ \- before everyone is finally happy with the results. The compromise left Roman sitting up, tied to what was decently plush chair until Remus tore out most of the plush for "aesthetic reasons" - _You would have thought the OTROCIOUS color would have been disturbing enough for him! -_ with one spring annoyingly digging into him. Virgil's ability to negotiate Remus's Iron Maiden idea to a single broken spring had been truly impressive. _I need to take some notes!_

Throughout the arguing and negotiating and yelling, it become apparent that both Virgil and Remus had at least suspected he was the possum before he ever changed back _. Even with my amazing acting skills!_ But even though he is now human and obviously Roman, they still refuse to call him any name other than Princey.

"Why do you guys keep using Princey instead of Roman?!? I have told you both that I would be more than honored if you use my real name " he yells out exasperatedly when it happens YET AGAIN _. I want to get to know them, but is this a sign that they don't want that? Am I too late in my epiphany?_ Virgil snorts at the outburst, now happily lounging on the couch facing Roman, and retorts. "Because the offended possum noises sound the same whether you are in human or possum form!"

"What! I don't make OFFENDED- You are casting aspirations on my character- Why would you SAY that-"

"Yeah, Virgil is right. Exhibit A" Remus points at Roman, causing him to smother the rest of his speech lest it get called "offended" _. Even my own brother is agreeing with this character assassination!_ "You can almost say those noises are offended Princey noises, no matter what the form!"

Both Virgil and Remus laugh, ignoring his BLISTERING glares sent at both, until the meaning behind his brother's explanation hits him like a brick _. They liked how I was as a possum, and they seem to be giving me a chance as a human because of that. It is almost like the rough-housing; a jab made with affection. Like, a nice nickname… I… hadn't thought of using nicknames that way._

"Oh man! Offended Princey Noises! That is now the only name for them!" Roman looks over at Virgil as the normally anxious Side rolls on the couch giggling. _Maybe I can join in on this?_

"Like you don’t make noises when you are offended, you … you Panic at the Everywhere!"

"Hey!" Roman tenses at Virgil's outraged shout, ready to apologize _\- Maybe I should have done my other apology first_? - but Remus rushes over to sling an arm around his bound shoulders. "Panic at the Everywhere! Nice! But is that the best you have for our itsy-bitsy ball of anxiety?"

Ignoring Virgil's cursing from the couch _\- If he was really angry he would throw a pillow at me or something, so it must be okay_ \- Roman stares his brother in the eyes. _Oh, it is on!_ "Goth Out Boy"

"Shadow Leg-olas"

"My Chemically Imbalanced Woe-mance"

"Web-ster Dictionary"

"Marilyn Morose"

" **THAT IS ENOUGH!** " The Paranoia voice is enough to drag Roman away from his competition with Remus. A glance at Virgil makes it clear that he is definitely not happy with the way the conversation has turned, his face also covered in shadows. But still no fists or pillows are thrown their way, giving Roman confidence. _Anytime he brings up the 'offended Princey noises' shtick, I will just give him a new nickname! I am not Creativity for nothing!_ " **Roman! Didn't you say you wanted t** o talk to us?"

It is weird to hear that frightening force fade away in the middle of a sentence, but Virgil has a point _. Right, back to the apology…_ He takes a fortifying breath before continuing.

"I have realized, over the last two days, that I have mistreated all of you Dark Sides." A quick glance up shows both Remus and Virgil seem to be frozen, so he carries on. "I always thought of you as the Bad Guys for me to protect Thomas against, but I am realizing that I was… wrong."

Still no reaction from the other two so he continues. "I wanted to apologize to both of you for how I have automatically assumed you were nefarious. I realize that you are trying to help Thomas, even if I don't agree with all your choices." He rushes on before they could object. "So I would like to be able to make amends to you. And maybe get to know you all. But seriously, this time?"

Roman quickly glances between both Sides, but they seemed frozen in place, the silence cutting. _Maybe I waited too late. I was acting the villain. There is no reason they have to accept this-_

"Y-you mean it?" The hesitance in his twins voice hurts his soul, and he rushes to agree. "Yes! I didn't realize how much of a… vile villain I was being. But I truly want to start anew with you" A quick glance at the still stoic Virgil. "With all of you…"

"Even when we disagree?" There is a sharpness in Virgil's voice and gaze that makes him realize this is important. "Because I don't think you and me are EVER going to agree on a lot. If we don't, will you start swinging weapons at us?"

"No!" He was desperate in conveying this point. "Logan and I disagree a lot. But I have never pulled a weapon on him! You all deserve the same courtesy _!" Even if I have failed to give it to you until now…_ He slumps forward, feeling the weight of his actions pressing down on him. "And I didn't give you that. That was wrong of me." _And that was so STUPID of me!_

The arm around his shoulders squeezes him. "Hey, hey! None of that! We aren't allowed to do that blaming ourselves shit when Janus is here, so I am going to hold you to the same standard!" Remus sternly states, then smiles. "You know, just to fuck with you!"

A startled laugh breaks out of him, those still-kinda-manic-but-unbelievably-forgiving eyes of his brother giving him the courage to look back up at Virgil, who still seems undecided. "I truly am sorry…."

"Then what are you going to do about it?" The flat response takes him off guard. But as he looks into the guarded eyes glaring at him, Roman catches a flicker of fear go through them. Realization slams through him. _He deals with worst case scenarios with his job as Paranoia. Of course he won't trust me on just my say-so!_ But that was an easy fix. Roman maintains eye contact with him. "I know that all the promises of how I will do better right now will be just words to you, but I will say them anyway. I want to get to know you all better. I promise to not use my weapons against you unless you attack me first, which I do not expect to happen from anyone other than my idiot brother."

Remus laughter and agreement on still trying to knock him unconscious - "Someone has to beat some sense into you!" - seems to break through the defensive wall from the Side facing him. Roman watches as Virgil looks over to Remus, obviously silently asking his opinion on Roman's words. When the worried Side gets a soft smile and a nod, he watches as the defenses fully crumble to show a… scared Side. Roman instinctively fights against the ropes in order to pull out a weapon to fight off what gave Virgil that look. _I will beat back all the shadows and guard him if the other Light Sides try to attack-_

The arm disappears from his shoulder as Remus launches himself at Virgil, giving him what looks to be a bone-crushing hug. But there are no complaints given, only more arms used in a return hug.

- _or Remus could comfort him... I need to stop thinking that they can't help each other down here!_ The reminder that they are not up in the Light Side gives him an idea. _There is one thing I can offer to show how serious I am about this._

Roman clears his throat, and waits for the other two to focus on him. "In order to show you how serious I am about getting to know you all, I am formally offering all three of you invitations to -"

" **What the fuck is going on here?!?** " The shout startles Roman, who quickly glances over to see Janus, AND LOGAN AND PATTON (?!?!) standing on the stairs looking down on the scenario. A quick review of what they must be seeing - _So, Remus is hugging an obviously not-happy Virgil, which is going to set_ Janus _off. And I am tied to a chair, which is going to freak out at least Patton, if not Logan… Oh yeah, this is a great scenario that they just entered into. WHY ARE LOGAN AND PATTON EVEN HERE?!?_ \- pushes him to try to correct any misconceptions.

"Hey… everyone! We are all just having a heart-to-heart. Nothing to worry about-"

"Oh my gosh, Roman! You are tied up! Are you okay?"

"I must say I share Patton's disbelief at those statements. Normally a" Logan flips to the correct index card "heart-to-heart does not normally include one person tied to a chair" A contemplative air forms around the Logical Side as he stares down at the card "unless my index card is wrong…" Janus keeps switching his glare over everyone in the room, already looking ready to leave no survivors.

_Oh boy, Dad Dark Side is still mad, Patton is going Dad Light Side on me, and Logan just wants his gosh-darn index cards to be correct. Not to mention a too-scared-to-trust-me Virgil and … just … Remus. This is the exact type of challenge for a brave Prince step up and rescue!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mean, nothing was on fire and they only destroyed one chair to tie Roman to. I would think Janus would count that for a win if not for the fact it made him look like a liar!
> 
> Don't worry guys, Roman knows how to diffuse the situation! :)


	15. The Prince

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gang's all here!

_Okay, Roman, think! I need to diffuse the situation._ The first thing was obviously to stop Janus from killing him, because Patton only fights in hugs and disappointed faces and Logan is all verbal taunts _. I don't want my beautiful face ruined just because these three decided to join us down here before I got untied! But how to block him? No one is stupid enough to engage with him when he is obviously so angry-_

Roman blinks and then grins. - _Except for our emotionally stunted nerd who has no idea how to read a room! But what would get Logan to engage with Janus… Wait, his curiosity!_ _The differences between us and the Dark Sides should be enough to get to make him want to interrogate a Dark Side!_ He directs his attention to Logan, who is still looking at his index card worriedly _. Wow, he puts a lot of trust in those things. It would be fun to intentionally mess one up… No Roman, focus on saving the day!_ "Hey Logan, did you know that strange things happen down here? Like the shadows actually move by themselves?" _Come on, take the bait!_

Logan FINALLY looks up and adjusts his glasses. "I assure you, Roman, that shadows do not move on their own. It must have been the trick of the light-"

Patton rushes over to Roman as Janus interrupts. "Yes, we should all talk about our shadow monsters down here instead of the fact that Roman **is tied to a chair** ** _!_** _" Even better, Janus now challenged him!_

As Logan turns to face Janus to lecture him on how shadows work, to the Snake Side's growing ire, Patton tries , and fails, to pull off the ropes constraining him. _Step one, to not be killed immediately, accomplished! Now how to stop Patton from yelling at the Dark Sides..._

The answer came as he glances back over at Remus and Virgil, who had leapt up and taken defensive stances with their back to the far corner of the room. Remus has a maniacal grin on, but Virgil looks really upset. _This next step was going to take some… flexibility with the truth._ _But it is to help everyone not freak out, so it is worth it!_ Patton was now frowning down at the ropes - _too bad ropes don't have feelings or they would slide off in shame!_ \- so Roman pulls out his puppy dog eyes and faces the Dad Side. "Hey Patton, those moving shadows can actually make you feel bad!" As predicted, Patton freezes and focuses on checking Roman over. "Oh my goodness! Did the shadows hurt you? Do you need a hug?!?"

 _Bingo!_ "Not anymore! I only touched one a little and it made me feel bad for a while. But the other Sides touched a lot of them! So they must really need a hug! Like, V-, uh," _Quick, what to call Virgil?_ " the one over there that isn't my brother. You must have seen Remus hugging him when you came in? And he looks sad right now? He must be feeling really bad _" which I know he is, but more from me freaking him out and not from the shadow_ _things_ "I think he would really appreciate a Patton hug!"

Dad Mode activates in the previously freaked out Moral Side and he starts walking toward the increasingly worried-looking Virgil. Remus steps to the side, out of the line of fire and smirks back at him. _He knows full well what I am doing. But it seems like he isn't going to stop it._

"Oh no! You don't feel well?" Patton rushes out at he nears the tensed Virgil. A frantic look flickers across the emo Side's eyes as he looks for an escape only to realize he was backed into a corner. "Uh… I'm fine?" Victory rushes through Roman, knowing full well that an uncertain answer to an offer of a hug was the same as screaming yes. If watching the now completely confused Virgil fall under the famous Patton hug felt a little like revenge for all the yelling about his katana, well, he can keep that bit of information to himself.

A quick look proves that his twin is still not interfering with Patton slowly drowning Virgil in love, or Janus trying unsuccessfully to explain the shadow monsters to Logan _._ Though the warning glance Janus threw over when Patton first started approaching Virgil, that toned down to a wary caution when all Patton did was hug the anxious Side, did not escape Roman's notice. _I guess we all are allowed to live…for now._ In fact, the chaotic Side seems delighted with the current events, and skips over to sit on Virgil's vacated spot on the couch.

"Wow, that was, what, a handful of sentences and you successfully weaponized the other Light Sides! And I thought I was the evil twin!" The last comment wiped away the majority of the happy glow he got from his twin's praise - _I still have a lot to make up for…_ \- and he rushes to interrupt. "I don't think you are the evil twin. Not anymore."

Remus cocks his head at him and tries to flippantly laugh, only for it to crack at the end. "Oh, are you signing up for the role? Gonna be evil now, Princey?"

"I don't think either of us is, or needs to be, evil. Not after the… conditions I have seen down here. If I had known before what I know now, I would have not reacted in such a… bully fashion against you."

"So what, you don't like our place and that is all it takes for you to turn over a new leaf?" The question gives Roman pause, because, is that true? _If I had never seen the lack of ability to talk to Thomas or the shadows that attack them down here, would I have realized my mistake_? It only takes a moment for him to answer that.

"It wasn't the Dark Side that changed my mind, though I am aghast with what you all have to deal with down here. The catalyst was seeing all of you together. I have a feeling that we could have been anywhere in Thomas's head and just watching how much of a family you three are would have been more than enough to make me realize that I was wrong." Remus seems to consider this, then shrugs.

"Fine, okay. I'm not sure I truly buy that, but I am willing to put a new foot forward." The flash of mischief in his twin's eyes was his only warning before getting pelted in the chest with a - _either a VERY realistic dismembered foot, or a real one_ \- foot. Instead of freaking out at it this time, Roman decides to take a slightly different path. He smiles and nods his head towards Remus to acknowledge the wordplay. _It WAS a good setup for that pun. Patton would like it if not for the gore_! Shock, then delight reflects in his twin's eyes, and he leans further back in the couch, letting out his infamous cackle.

Seeing Remus so happy, and knowing that HE had a hand in it, warmed Roman up. _Is it really that easy to make my brother happy? I am definitely going to be doing more of this!_

"But what were you saying before we got interrupted?" Remus leans forward, and it is the silence that follows that clues Roman in to the fact that the others are watching them. A quick glance shows Virgil still stuck in the bear trap of Patton's arms, while both look confused in the twin's direction. Another glance shows Logan now facing them, with one of his notebooks at the ready and Janus silently watching… the "you live...for now" aura still emanating from his stance.

Roman feels some anxiety with he eyes of all the other Sides causes watching him while he tries to right his wrong, but he wasn't The Prince for nothing. _I can do this!_ After a deep breath, he starts "I was giving out an invitation for you three to join me for a meal in the Light Side. I will, of course, escort you there-"

"Bro, I know how to get into your room" "I DON'T think that was supposed to be 'I know how to get **to** your room'…" "I'm pretty sure he knows what he said, J-Deceit. On a side note, does Remus have any index cards on whose rooms he can break into? I swore we gave him one for mine, but I want to double check!"

"-I will greet you in my room and show you around the Light Side and then we can all partake in a feast cooked by yours truly-"

"You were banned from cooking after the baking incident, Roman" "Yeah kiddo, you almost caught the oven on fire" " **HE WHAT**?!? **DO WE HAVE TO BAN YOU FROM THE STOVE TOO?** " "I guess the twins AREN'T similar, at least in cooking ability…"

"-cooked by yours truly with the help -" "The word you are looking for is 'supervision', Roman" "-HELP of Patton. Then we can have a movie night!" He pauses, realizing that he was getting carried away, and the only reason he was not standing up and gesturing victoriously with his arms was because he was still tied to the chair.

He looks around at the three Dark Sides hesitantly, trying to get a read on them. All three Side's faces contain a mix of shock and wariness, and he couldn't tell if they were going to accept. He can only wait another second in the silence before bursting out "If you want to? Share a meal? See the Light Side? Have a movie night? Any or all of these things?" _Did I scare them off?_

Finally, his brother's characteristic glee breaks through the other emotions. "You couldn't keep me away even if you tossed me down into a dank hole infested with plague rats!" _Ignoring the imagery, I got a yes! Success!_ Janus then steps forward with a frown. "I am TOTALLY going to let Remus go up there alone. You three would let him get too close to a microwave… or blank wall… or really anything…." Virgil pipes up from his position, still encased in Patton's arms. "I am not going to be left down here alone!"

Logan snaps his notebook closed. "If they are going to come up for a meal, then I can ask you questions then. It seems that therer are significant differences that may have caused issues between the two Sides of Thomas's mind, and it would be beneficial to everyone to understand them so that we all can work together more efficiently. And any Side that can help curb Patton and Roman's impulses is welcome by me."

Roman watches as Janus glances over at him, tied to a chair, then over at Patton still hugging a resigned Virgil _\- I am pretty sure that Emo Nightmare now officially has two Dad Sides_ \- and smirks. "Those two have impulse issues? I am SHOCKED!" Before he can react - _I did not tie myself up! This is NOT my fault!_ \- Remus shouts over to Logan. "I don't curb impulse, I am impulse! I impulsively fuck with Roman!"

And then Logan just BETRAYS him after pushing up his glasses! "I am not ADVERSE to that course of action, if done optimally for Thomas's productivity…"

"Logan! How could you?!? Here I am, tied to this chair, with a spring digging into me, and you - "

"Before this gets any more -" a shuffle of index cards in the pause"-extra-" _Okay, I will give him points for using that right. Then immediately take them away for accusing me of such a thing!_ "-how about you explain HOW it came about that you were tied to a chair? Deceit mentioned something about you being a possum, but you clearly are not."

"To be fair, I was a possum when he left. And as to how this all happened…" Roman feels the rush of being on stage start to take him, with his audience of five looking on. _Who cares if I am tied up, I must give my all!_

"Let me tell you a story!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we go! Just imagine Thomas mumbling "Storytime..." to himself and have no idea why. :)
> 
> I am thinking of a slightly different format for the next chapter (more like the part where Roman is talking and everyone interjects), to keep the focus on Roman telling everyone how he saw this whole thing go down. But it might be confusing who is talking so I have to think about it. Let me know if it was too confusing in this chapter and I can maybe put the initials of the Side who is talking?


	16. The Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman explains what happened, with a lot of input from the other Sides

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if the format works

"Once upon a time-"

_"I thought this was an explanation on what happened two days ago?" "Hush, Logan! Roman is telling a story!"_

"-an amazing and charming Prince-"

_"I DON'T doubt the amazing part!" "Yeah, and considering the amount of hissing, I am calling bullshit on the charming part, bro!" "And we all know that it is Princey-"_

"-Can you just let me tell the story! Geez! Okay, now where was I-"

_"I DON'T think it was with some skeptical descriptions-"_

"-AN AMAZING AND CHARMING PRINCE-" " _Princey_ ""- WAS VALIANTLY FIGHTING THE DRAGON WITCH! Now, this foe is tough-"

_"Not if you kick him in the dick, bro! It's his weak spot!"_

"-when you don't kick him in the unmentionables, which our Prince-" _"Princey!"_ "would NEVER do! So, the Prince-" " _Princey!!"_ "- and the Dragon Witch traded blows when that vile villain decided to curse our poor hero for being too perfect!-"

_"Objection! I DO think that it FALSE!" "Patton, I am coming to the conclusion that asking Roman to summarize was a bad idea." "Oh no! The poor hero has been cursed! Oh, I hope he will be alright!"_

" -AND WOE TO THE POOR HERO! HE HAD BEEN TURNED INTO A POSSUM! As he was coming to this realization, another misfortune fell upon him! His own people did not recognize his new form and ran him off of the land he had just defended. He took shelter in the nearby forest, forgetting for a moment -"

_"If this story is any indication, I think Princey forgets a lot of things. Like facts and reality…" "While I agree with you V-Anxiety, you need to fucking shut your mouth! We are about to get to the best part! Me!"_

"-FORGETTING FOR A MOMENT that the forest was actually the border between his lands and his brother's. The other Prince-"

_"Nah, I am partial to The Duke now! You can call me Dukey!"_

"-the Duke and the Prince-" _"Princey!"_ "-the Duke and the HERO had a… bad relationship. Anytime they met up, they normally fought and yelled at each other. At the time, the P-HERO took those fights and yelling matches seriously, thinking that his brother did not like him-"

_"Ah, no! That is not true! You are my favorite sibling!" "Remus DOESN'T consider you his favorite twin." "Remus does not have another twin; that would make them triplets.""We are well aware of that, Logan! J-Deceit was just trying to make Roman feel better!" "Poor boys! They sound like they both need a hug!"_

"-not realizing that the Duke's rough-and-tumble attitude was how he showed affection. Knowing that, you can see why the hero was worried when the Duke found him in the woods-"

_"Enter the G.O.A.T Remus. The first thing you notice about him is-"_

"-and carried him by the TAIL, like some sort of MONSTER-"

_"Bro, you were trying to claw and bite at me. Granted, the attempt was beyond pathetic, but I refuse to get yelled at for getting rabies AGAIN-"_

"-I DO NOT HAVE RABIES- You know what? You are trying to distract me from my story. WELL IT WON'T WORK! AHEM. The POOR HERO was being dragged back to his brother's home. Which, unbeknownst to him, was a good place to shelter. At the time, the hero only viewed the Duke and the other Sides that lived there as…bad. Because they were aggressive and violent. In his sheltered existence, those characteristics were a choice and not an adaptation-"

_"Did ROMAN just use the word adaptation correctly?!?" "Yes, that IS the surprising part about his last sentence." "YOU GUYS SHOULD HAVE SEEN HIM! HE WAS THE MOST PATHETIC POSSUM THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN! HE COULD BARLEY HISS RIGHT!! MY OWN BROTHER, NOT ABLE TO HISS!!!"_

"-TO THEIR ENVIRONMENT! AND WHEN HE was dragged into the dreaded Dark Side, he was greeted with the Duke's room-"

_"Okay, that is NOT fair. EVERYONE wants to hang out there." "Yeah, Princey has a point…""MY ROOM IS JUST A LITTLE MESSY! YOU TWO DON'T UNDERSTAND ART!!!"_

"-AND THEN another Dark Side appeared to yell at the Duke, who still held the hero captive by his tail!-"

_"Is that the all intro that I get? Really?!?"_

"-But the hero couldn't immediately place this Dark Side. He did not have Deceit's scales, or Paranoia's spider arms and creepy voice, leaving him at a loss as to who the EMO NIGHTMARE was-"

_"Oh, are we doing this Princey? Because I am ready to go whenever you are!"_

"- only that this new Side needed the Duke to help clean-"

_"Oh wow! You guys help with chores? Roman has too much Creative stuff and Logan only helps if something is not 'optimized', whatever THAT means... " "Do NOT wait for it…"_

"-the destruction of the common room, which they somehow caused.-"

_"And there it ISN'T"_

"-At first, the Prince-" _"Princey!"_ "-HERO was aghast at all the destruction laid before him. But it soon became apparent that the two Sides truly cared for each other, even when they were destroying the recently put-together common room in order to have a pillow fight in which the unknown Dark Side outsted themselves as Paranoia by conjuring his FOUR SPIDER ARMS!-"

" _Well, that does not sound efficient at all. They should have had the pillow fight before cleaning up-""Logan, if you give these two any ideas on how to break **my** common room more 'efficiently' , I am NOT going to find out how to make your life a living hell!""For the record, I am Anxiety and not Paranoia, Princey!"_

"-AS THE POOR HERO VALIANTLY DEFENDS THE RECLINER-"

_"Is that what you were doing, Princey?" "Yeah, it looked more like cowering, but whatever floats your boat, bro!"_

"-DEFENDS THE RECLINER, another Dark Side enters the common room. Now, this one the Hero knows, based on the scales cascading over the left side of his face. Deceit had entered the Dark Side, and he doesn't look happy. The Hero hesitates, but in that time it became clear the other Dark Sides do not fear Deceit, who in turn looks after them by making meals. After Deceit leaves to make one of those meals and THE HERO GIVES AN AMAZING PORTAYAL OF DYING BY GUNSHOT-"

_"It was something…Also it made it pretty clear that he wasn't a real possum!" "Wait someone DIDN'T actually ask him to play dead?" "MY BRO SEEMED EXCITED BY THE IDEA! DON'T LOOK AT ME THAT WAY!"_

"-the name Princey was foisted upon him-"

_"Oh! I thought you would like that kind of name, Kiddo!" "I agree with Patton, Roman. It does match your aesthetic." "Don't let Princey fool you, he chose the name out of about six choices." "I am SHOCKED he got that name!" "We can always go back to Hissy Fit-"_

"-FOISTED UPON HIM BECAUSE THE DARK SIDES ARE TERRIBLE NAMERS! But even so, they made room for him at the dinner table, and he enjoyed a nice meal with good company. It ate at the Hero's belief that these DARK SIDES are not-good people because they are FROM the Dark Side. This idea was further rattled when that night, he was invited to a sleepover-"

_"Oh my goodness! I thought that was Roman getting ahead of himself, but I love sleepovers!""We WEREN'T trying to spare the possum from sleeping in Remus's room." "I have to inform all of you that the REASON for the sleepover never matters to Patton. Congratulations, you are going to be inundated with invitations for them now…"_

"-He tried to push aside the doubts that he had misjudged the other Sides, for the selfish reason of not wanting to deal with it. But, as he woke the next day, his views were tested again. Before him P-Anxiety was using his DARK POWERS… to stop Thomas from melting plastic on the stove-"

_"Oh yeah, that brings up an important point. WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU GUYS?!? **THOMAS CAN'T BE LEFT ALONE TO COOK!!** " "I believe at the time I was trying to schedule the rest of his day. But I concede your point Anxiety, and will be more vigilant when Thomas enters the kitchen."_

"-which is not an evil thing to do. It is, the Hero had to admit, something that helps Thomas. And something he needed at the time. At this point, the Hero was not sure what to do. Especially when a group of SHADOWS ATTACKED THE SIDES IN THE DARK COMMON ROOM-"

_"OH NO! That sounds awful! Are you Kiddos okay?" "I, too, have more questions on these 'shadows'-"_

"-the Hero saw one getting ready to attack Deceit, and tried to stop it. As soon as he touched the beast, he felt an AWFUL array of emotions-"

_"Sounds like you are weak, bro!"_

"-So he disengaged. Unfortunately, the shadow was now PURSUING the Hero, so he ran to the Duke for help, and his brother gave it without a second thought. It was another piece of evidence against the Hero's ideals, but this Hero is stubborn and is not prone to this type of self-reflection-"

_"What other types of self-reflection ISN'T there?" "~My dear brother means that he looks in the mirror a lot!~"_

"-SO the evidence was foolishly ignored. Yet, the Hero then spent some time painting with his brother-"

_"To NOT be clear, they painted the Common Room walls. Just look at it!""Oooh, pretty! Are those flower covered hills?"_

"How did you see through my cleverly disguised painting Patton- No! I am not going to be distracted! The Hero spent time painting with his brother and with the others at supper and the sleepover that night -"

_"Alright kiddos, I am starting to think you aren't inviting me to these cool sleepovers on purpose. And that kinda hurts my heart..." "If we HADN'T asked you, would you have come?""Every time you make him upset, he squeezes me harder! How is he stronger than Remus?!?" "Is that a fucking challenge?" "What? wait, **NO** -ooof!"_

"-and without realizing it, felt included in the family that had built down here. The realization hits home after listening to some critiques of Disney movies during a movie marathon. While some of the issues brought up were PURE SLANDER AGAINST THE PRINCES IN THE STORIES-"

_"If I had to guess, he is still mad about Aladdin.~""… **can't … breathe! … Let… go**...""Kiddo, are you okay?" "I believe you two may be asphyxiating Anxiety with your 'hugs', Patton.""~Oooooh, kinky~" "Remus, DON'T loosen up your hold right now!" "You take all my fun away!!!""I'm so sorry Kiddo! Is this better?"_

"-but some were valid points. Sides that the Hero had dismissed as only being evil had taken him in, cared for him, and shown that they… they are good people, if not what the Hero was expecting. And then comes the realization that… out of the four of them, the Hero had been the most evil to the others. Always discounting Deceit and Anxiety because, well, they are who they are. Always thinking the worst of his brother because his affection could be seen as aggression in the wrong light. The Hero… had acted horribly to these Sides. He had been wrong. As he accepted this, the Hero started glowing and was turned back to his human self-"

_"Oh, kiddo!" "Wait, it took you two days to admit you were wrong about something?!? What is the fuck wrong with you, Princey!!" "That DOESN'T sound bad…" "I have to side with Anxiety and Deceit. If you needed a list of things you were wrong about I could have easily supplied you with one." "OOHHH! Sick burn from the necktie man!"_

"-BUT that didn't change his new resolve. To make amends for the horrid way he had acted before, and to truly get to know these 'Dark' Sides for who they really are. The Hero invited them to hang out in the Light Side because he knew if Patton and Logan got to actually meet the people the Hero had seen down here, they would want to be friends too. So now the Hero paves the way to a Happily Ever After for all of them. To help the Dark Sides with talking to Thomas, since he feels so far away down here. To hang out with the Duke more, without being so defensive. To watch movies with the others when he can DEFEND THEM-"

_"And there it is. You just can't have others insult Disney, can you Princey?" "When you say 'hang out', are you talking about actually hanging? Because I am down!~" "I am NOT sure that introducing us to Thomas all at once is a GREAT idea."_

"- But whatever the future holds, the Hero wants the 'Dark' Sides to know that they are his friends, his allies, and more importantly his family. Estranged for now, but not for long if the Prince- " _"Princey"_ "-Why can't you leave it alone Surly Temple- the HERO has any say! He is sure they will argue, about BAD DISNEY CRITIQUES, or DRINKING LEAD, or TRICKING THE POOR HERO! But that is what family does. And the Hero is determined to make up for time lost."

_"I, for one, would welcome talking to you three more. I have a plethora of questions based on the short time I have been down here and would greatly appreciate your input-" "I didn't realize how different it was down here… Or that you guys FOUGHT things. You are absolutely welcome to come up to the Light Side, where nothing will HURT you! All of you! Remus, Anxiety, and Deceit!" "…Virgil. My name is Virgil…" "And my name is Janus. If we are going to wipe the slate clean, we should all know each other's names." "AND FOR THE LAST TIME, I HAVE NO IDEA IF THERE WAS LEAD IN THAT PAINT! Wait, does this mean we can paint the Light Side common room?"_

"But there is one request the Hero asks of all the Sides, both Light and Dark. And that is, CAN ANYONE UNTIE HIM FROM THIS CHAIR?!? THE LOOSE SPRING IS REALLY GETTING TO ME!"

_"One word, Princey. Katanna." "Sorry, Kiddo. I am busy hugging A-Virgil!" "Same here, and I KNEW that spring would work! Like Chinese water torture, it will slowly wear down your sanity!!" "You seem to be mostly comfortable where you are, and you will not be able to affect my schedule as much if left there." "I will do that RIGHT NOW! I am TOTALLY worried about you."_

VILLAINS! EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At some point when they are finally untying Roman, he makes a "too hot to handle" joke (probably when Patton fails at the knots again) and Remus starts a fire. It is cannon and important to me that a very frustrated Janus has to use a fire extinguisher at least once in this story!! :)
> 
> I am thinking all that is left is an epilogue chapter and maybe a Dragon Witch POV chapter to complete this story, so only one or two chapters left!


	17. The Movie Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Movie night months after the incident

"And that ends the epic story of the Hero, the Prince - and who will only accept Princey again when you stop stealing my eyeshadow, Virgil! You have shadow powers, why must you take my makeup!! - , the one and only Roman bringing together the divided Sides to forge a new, united path forward.-"

Popcorn pelts Roman from three Dark Sides as they boo at him. _The NERVE!_

"Do you have to tell this story every movie night, Princey? The first time was MAYBE okay, but it has been months now! And you tell it every time!!" Virgil has the gall to complain from his spot on the Light Side couch, while STILL THROWING POPCORN AT HIM! He sputters, unable to get out how AWFUL and DISRESPECTFUL and … and … _THAT STORY IS AMAZING! THEY ARE JUST JEALOUS!_

"But Virgil, I love this story! It has such a great happy ending!" Patton protests next to him, reaching in and grabbing some of the villain's projectiles before it is thrown. He munches happily on them but does not stop Virgil from continuing his ASSAULT! _Betrayed by Light Dad Side!_

"I believe we have already concluded that many of the details of this story are completely false." The monotone voice throws out. Roman refuses to acknowledge Logan's input on account of him reading a book through his AMAZING STORY. By now he has moved over to where his brother is throwing popcorn that burns when it hits him. _What sort of hot sauce did he put on that?!?_ He starts wrestling Remus for the bowl when he hears Janus's dry drawl. "I can personally verify that that … story was COMPLETELY TRUE!"

Roman whips around - with the super hot popcorn bowl in hand like a HERO - to contest the Dark Dad Side's sarcasm, only to be deafened by Remus screaming in his ear. "YOU ALWAYS FORGET TO ADD IN WHEN I THREW YOU AT VIRGIL'S FACE! Come on, how many times do I have to remind you!"

 _You know what, they don't get any happy stories. Instead they have to deal with their bad decision making!_ He takes a deep breath before yelling. "-And so starts the horror-filled tale of the betrayal of the Hero, who was LEFT TO DIE TIED TO A CHAIR-"

"No, Roman! This story is scary!" Patton yells while blindly pulling Virgil into a hug. The emo Side tries to dodge, but is of course unsuccessful in evading Dad Hugs, as they are super effective. Yet, even from his captive state he growls at Roman and hits him in the face with another handful of popcorn. "LET IT GO PRINCEY! IT WAS AN HOUR AT MOST!"

"I thought we all agreed that Roman was only allowed to tell one 'true' story per movie night?" Logan comments, turning a page in his nerd book. Remus, completely ignoring Logan's contribution, yells while trying to grab the bowl back. "You are lucky that Janus was there, or I would have set you on fire a second time! Too bad Snake Daddio had a fire extinguisher nearby for the first attempt..."

Still keeping the bowl out of his twin's reach, Roman continues. "- THE POOR HERO HAD JUST BROUGHT EVERYONE TOGETHER, ONLY TO BE IMMEDIATELY BETRAYED BY HIS ENTIRE NEW FAMILY! OH WOE TO THE HERO! ALWAYS BATTLING AGAINST THE ODDS-"

As he continued his chilling horror story, he can’t help but crack a smile at the comments from Virgil and Patton - _Both with so much emotion, yet polar opposites in opinion!_ \- and the way both Janus and Logan try to repress his monologue by trying to add in boring FACTS - _Neither of you will stop me from telling my amazing stories!_ \- and the fun of play-wrestling with his brother.

The last couple of months had been hectic, what with introducing everyone to Thomas - _Only Janus took my stage direction on their introduction, and I may be a little bitter about that_ \- getting used to everyone up in the Light Side - _The standoffs between the two Dad Sides definitely caused everyone else to duck and run for cover, like smart Sides that they were!_ \- and integrating the… interesting personalities of the Dark Sides into Thomas's decisions - _How Remus got himself cursed into being an octopus for a month, and somehow ending up waging a hug-the-Sides war with Patton, I still don't understand. So many hugs!! I don’t know who won, and at this point I am too afraid to ask..._ But as he looked over the long-suffering faces of Janus and Logan, the scared-at-the-story-but-happy-at-hugging-Virgil look on Patton's face, the resigned look from Virgil - _who is currently being squeezed_ \- and the determined look of Remus - _Like I am going to relinquish the bowl to him_! - Roman knows he is grateful for the series of events that lead them to this happily ever after.

He had even gone to great lengths trying to thank the Dragon Witch for the lessons he learned while cursed, but that villain hadn't wanted to even discuss what transpired. _Maybe I have also painted him in a villain persona without giving him a chance. Something to dive in to another day…_

And another day he will conquer that issue. For now, he basks in the love and attention - sarcastic or otherwise - from his family. If he also changed everyone's votes for the next movie to Lilo and Stitch during his retelling of being tied to a chair while the others looked on, NOT HELPING, Roman feels like it is an adequate repercussion for THEIR BETRAYAL!

And if I want to SUBTLY underscore that we are all a, albeit crazy, family no matter how different we are so that everyone feels welcome? Well, that is just what family, and heroes, do. Because ohana means family, and family means GENTLY pushing your brother's face away with your foot to keep him from taking the obviously acid-covered popcorn from you, at the same time yelling at the nerd and the cynic to just accept the OBVIOSLY fraudulent results of the movie poll, all the while trading insults with the emo Side without Happy Dad realizing that they AREN'T compliments. Even though it is pretty clear dear old Happy Dad knows what is going on, but is allowing it since he gets to hug the emo the whole time…

You know… Family. One that may still be a little broken…but is still good.

 _"_ Did you just bite me Remus?!? YOUR OWN BROTHER!!!" _"You put your foot on my face. What did you expect to happen?""You DIDN'T do that, Roman. This ISN'T on you." "If you did not put your foot in the proximity of his mouth, I do not believe this would have happened. On a side note, are you up to date on your rabies shots, Roman?""Remus, do you have rabies again?!? Where is the animal that gave it to you? Please tell me you didn't bring it to the Dark Side!""Now Remus, no biting Mister!"_

Yeah… crazy, but still good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course Roman tells that story every chance he gets, he was the Hero!!
> 
> And these lovable, crazy Sides absolutely have the feel of the group in Lilo and Stitch, is all I am saying!
> 
> Update: Sorry guys, I tried to add another chapter after this. I was going to make a POV of the Dragon Witch, but have been pulled into so many directions with it, that I am calling it quits. I may write it sometime in the future, but I am calling the story closed anyway.

**Author's Note:**

> I was going to make him turn into a rat or dragon or something else, but then I remembered Hissy. And that is how we got here...
> 
> In case there is any confusion, Roman got turned into the American opossum and not the cute Australian possum. 
> 
> I never really planned for this story to happen, so expect infrequent updates!


End file.
